Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military
From: arnaud@samsung.com (Alain Arnaud)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Lavi (was US Naval Forces in Gulf, Air Nat'l Gaurd units)
Message-ID: <1990Aug21.025234.2026@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 21 Aug 90 02:52:34 GMT
References: <1990Aug11.015150.19844@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: Samsung Software America
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Approved: military@att.att.com



From: arnaud@samsung.com (Alain Arnaud)

In article <1990Aug15.032421.26794@cbnews.att.com> macko@police.rutgers.edu (Peter C. Macko) writes:


>   Finally, I have a question of my own.  A few years ago I heard about
> Israel's plan to build a state of the art fighter called the Lahvi??
> (I don't remember the exact spelling).  I also heard that there was
> considerable pressure to cancel that project.  Supposedly this fighter
> would be able to outperform even America's best.  In addition it was
> supposed to contain the most advanced electronic warfare capability in

	The Lavi (Lion in Hebrew)was designed by IAI (Israel Aircraft) 
	and two flying prototypes were build. 
	It looks very much like an F16 with the additions of canards.
	Its true performance were classified, but as you mention it
	had advanced electronics, fly-by-wire controls.
	It was funded 60-70& by U.S. aid to Israel, which was spent in the US
	to purchase engines, and other gear.
	There was a high-level US governmental effort to kill the project,
	this effort was lead by Caspar Weinberger (the most anti-Israeli and
	most pro-arab Secretary of Defence in the US) and McDonnell and General
	Dynamics.
	Israel was convinced to cancel the project in 1988, and received
	a commitment from the US for additional F16s and F15s (BTW, these are
	now going to the Saudis)
	The cancellation created a lot of turmoil in Israel and lead to
	severe job cuts at IAI in the field of aerospace, hardware and
	software.
	One of the two Lavis are still flying, as an electronics test bed.
	There are some plans to upgrade the IAF F-15s and F-16s with the Lavi
	electronics.