IDF's technological superiority must be defended
Despite Israel's leading position in weapons development, an illusion
remains that it is dependent on the United States for the qualitative
advantage of its weapon systems.
By Moshe Arens Haaretz Published 00:56 25.01.11
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/idf-s-technological-superiority-must-be-defended-1.339026

For many years a basic tenet of Israeli defense policy was that its soldiers
must have a qualitative advantage over its enemies in terms of the weapon
systems at their disposal. The question was how to achieve that qualitative
superiority.

Yitzhak Rabin once told me that victory on the battlefield could only be
achieved with weapons acquired abroad, and this view was shared by many in
the defense establishment. France was Israel's main source of advanced
weapons in the 1950s, with the United States assuming that mantle
thereafter. The claims by Israeli engineers that they could develop systems
that were at least as good as anything available abroad were dismissed as
pipe dreams.

Rabin's position came to the fore in 1987, when as defense minister he asked
the cabinet to cancel the Lavi combat aircraft development program, which he
had inherited from his predecessor, despite the fact that it was to be the
most advanced fighter plane in the world at the time, and two prototypes
were already undergoing flight testing. After squeezing the cancellation
through the cabinet, Rabin ordered Israel Aircraft Industries (now Israel
Aerospace Industries ) to close its engineering division lest it drag Israel
into another "adventure." That division was one of the best fighter aircraft
design departments in the world.

The Israel Navy became the first Israel Defense Forces branch to place its
trust in a locally developed weapon system when it equipped its missile
boats with the Gabriel sea-to-sea missile. In the Yom Kippur War the Gabriel
was instrumental in the navy's decisive victory over the Syrian and Egyptian
navies in the first missile battles in the history of naval warfare. The
Israel Air Force was the first to utilize small unmanned aerial vehicles,
which destroyed Soviet-made surface-to-air missile batteries during the
first Lebanon War, without losing a single plane, and Israel's UAVs are
still among the best in the world. But the IAF has remained adamant in its
opposition to an Israeli-developed fighter aircraft.

Today, 24 years since the unfortunate decision to abort the Lavi project,
the capabilities of the Israeli defense industry are known throughout the
world. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is first in the world when it comes
to tactical missiles. Elta Electronics Industries' radar systems are the
world's best, and most advanced, while the Merkava is the world's best main
battle tank. The Arrow is the world's first operational ballistic missile
interceptor, while Iron Dome is the first short-range missile interceptor.
In any conflict, Israel's enemies will contend with many surprises that will
demonstrate the qualitative advantage that locally developed systems can
provide.

Yet the illusion remains that Israel is dependent on the United States for
the qualitative advantage of its weapon systems. In fact, this is true only
when it comes to manned aircraft. And while the incorporation of
Israeli-developed systems into the aircraft acquired in the United States
once gave Israel some advantage over the very same aircraft that were sold
to Arab countries, that advantage has begun to disappear with the
introduction of U.S. restrictions on the incorporation of Israeli systems
into these aircraft.

The F-35, the latest U.S. fighter that Israel wants to acquire, will include
no Israeli systems. The F-35 development program has been plagued by
frequent delays and mounting cost overruns. The design compromises that have
to be made to accommodate its goal of serving as a joint strike fighter that
will be acquired by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Marines have limited
its performance capabilities.

In the meantime, anti-stealth technology is being developed and may yet
neutralize what is being advertised as the aircraft's major advantage before
delivery or within its operational lifetime. Russia and Indian are
developing a more advanced aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50, which is certain to be
sold to Arab air forces and to face the IAF's aircraft in the future.

It is time to reexamine Israel's own capabilities in this area. In any
event, IAI must not be permitted to allow our fighter-aircraft design
capability to atrophy.