FRUSTRATED OVER U.S. RADAR FOR F-16I

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- The Israel Air Force has quietly expressed frustration
over its decision to accept a U.S.-origin radar for the new F-16I multi-role
fighter.

Defense officials and military sources said the choice of Northrop Grumman's
AN/APG-68[V]9 synthetic-aperture multi-mode radar has dismayed both the
service and the Defense Ministry. They said an evaluation by Israeli air
force pilots of the U.S. radar showed it to be inferior to an indigenous
Israeli radar designed by Elta Electronic Industries. Israeli pilots flew
the F-16I in test flights in 2003 in the United States.

"This was the most political decision ever made by the air force and we'll
be paying for this for years to come," a senior officer said.

The military sources said the Defense Ministry agreed to a U.S. radar as
part of the request for 102 F-16 Block 50 aircraft from the United States in
1999. The U.S. Defense Department refused to allow Israel to install the
Elta SAR radar on the F-16, the staple of NATO air forces.
+++
NOTE: The above is not the full item.
This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily
by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please
contact Middle East Newsline at:
editor@menewsline.com for further details.