http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?id=61052&mador=1&datee=11/12/99
Friday, November 12, 1999
Israel denies China planes have U.S. technology
IAI to install radars in jets
By Amnon Barzilai, Ha'aretz Defense Correspondent
The United States is pressuring Israel to cancel
plans to build early warning radar aircraft for
the Chinese air force, but Israeli officials have
countered by saying that the radar systems do not
include American technology.
Washington is worried that the planes will
enhance the power of China and thereby have an
adverse effect on the status of Taiwan.
In July, the U.S. Air Force announced that it
would sell advanced early warning radar aircraft,
including the E-2T Hawkeye, to Taiwan.
The American approach to Israel was made after
the disclosure of the fact that Israel Aircraft
Industries (IAI) had taken delivery of a
Russian-made Ilyushin 76 transport aircraft on
October 25 in order to install a radar system in
it before handing it over to the Chinese.
According to U.S. intelligence reports, the plane
will be transferred to China next spring.
Until then, the defense establishment had
maintained a total blackout over the agreements
it signed with China and Russia as part of
"Project Ring."
Under the terms of the agreement between Israel
and China, China has the option of purchasing two
or three additional intelligence aircraft from
Israel. However, the New York Times reported
yesterday that China is thought to be considering
the purchase of four to eight radar systems
developed for the Israeli Air Force by Elta, an
IAI subsidiary, and installing them on Russian
aircraft.
Such a deal would be worth up to $2 billion,
since each of the airborne radar systems costs
$250 million.
The project represents the zenith of transactions
conducted by the Israeli Defense Ministry with
China since the start of the decade. At the same
time, the deal stands on its own and does not
necessarily herald a breakthrough in Israeli arms
sales to China.
Last month saw the first visit to Israel by a
Chinese defense minister. However, Israeli
defense sources emphasized that the visit was not
intended to promote the sale of arms to China.
Only recently the former director-general of the
Defense Ministry, Ilan Biran, confirmed that
Israeli defense exports to China were at a nadir,
totaling only tens of millions of dollars a year.
Sources in the defense establishment said there
is a regular cycle in the U.S. administration's
reactions to Israel's defense ties with China.
Such reactions could come in the wake of a leak
or in the wake of information made available to
U.S. intelligence.
The sources said there is nothing new in the fact
that Israel is building a radar system for
installation in a plane to be delivered to the
Chinese air force.
Another possibility is - although this has no
confirmation from any U.S. source - that American
defense concerns are putting pressure on the
Pentagon to restrain Israel. The two largest
defense firms, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are
competitors against IAI in international tenders
to supply intelligence aircraft.
Those firms could argue that while they are
barred from selling to China, Washington has no
control over Israel's military industries.
The deal with China for the intelligence aircraft
was launched about five years ago, when the two
countries signed an agreement for the building of
an early warning radar plane. However, the deal
ground to a halt over a dispute regarding the
cargo plane in which the system would be
installed.
Israel suggested that it purchase a used Boeing
707 for the purpose, but the Chinese insisted on
a Russian plane. That required the approval of
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, which was
finally given when former prime minister Benjamin
Netanyahu visited Russia in the spring of 1997.
To keep the deal secret, a false statement was
issued about the deal, according to which the
agreement was for Israel to upgrade Russian
weapons. IAI purchased the Ilyushin for $50
million after tough bargaining with the Russians,
and Israeli engineers went to Russia to implement
the necessary changes in the plane's technical
specifications so the radar system could be
installed.
(c) copyright 1999 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
