Reference:
José Higuera, Colombia Finalises Deal to Acquire More Israeli Kfirs, Janes Defence Weekly (Feb 13, 2008).

This is reported in the American Defense News . The expanding Palestinian and Lebanese Hizballah’s missile threats to its southern and northern air bases have persuaded Israeli’s Air Force to consider switching its procurement plans from 100 US F-35A stealth jets to the F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) version, designed to serve the US Marine Corps under fire.

Israel’s southern and northern air bases have come within range of rockets from Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas from the Gaza Strip, respectively, and possibly from the West Bank too. Air landings and takeoffs have therefore become hazardous. Israeli air bases and installations have been fortified against Palestinian rocket attack from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

“Air base survivability is no longer hypothetical,” said one retired air force general.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that IAF chiefs reckon that in any future flare-ups, the Palestinians will not be satisfied with hitting Sderot and Ashkelon but will go for its main air bases as well.

This information has been kept from the Israeli public as the Olmert government continues to avoid proactive options for knocking out the increasingly dangerous Hamas and Hizballah’s rocket capabilities - boosted by Iran, and remains fixed in defensive mode. This fixation is not lost on Iranian, Syrian, Hizballah and Hamas in charting their assault scenarios against Israel.

Most military strategists warn that a comprehensive ground operation is unavoidable and the longer it is delayed, the harder it will be and the more casualties.

Israel’s designated Air Force commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, who assumes his new duties on April 1, stated at a recent lecture:

“Professionally speaking, if Israel wants to prevent high-trajectory rocket or mortar fire, it must establish good control on the ground.” He added: “…if Israeli forces are present on the ground... then we can stop the development and manufacture of rockets and other weapons in time.”

DEBKAfile’s military sources add that the government continues to lag behind Israel’s perceived security needs. The new Lockheed Martin planes will not be available in time for the confrontations widely predicted to erupt over the next two or three years. The rockets already in Hizballah and Hamas hands - not to mention Iran and Syria - may be able to prevent some Israeli warplanes from taking off from vulnerable runways.

Salvation will not come from the F-35B, which is still undergoing initial testing. On March 26, a Pentagon Acquisition Board will decide whether to approve the production of the first six STOVL F-35Bs, conditional on a successful first flight. In April, the first plane will begin propulsion system ground testing, ahead of its first flight by June. Its capabilities in relation to cost have still to be determined. There is no estimated timeline for the F-25B to go into service with the US Marines.

Israeli defense ministry’s director general Pinhas Buchris visits Washington in mid-March to discuss IAF procurements.

The Lavi program was an outgrowth of a series of Israeli studies conducted during the latter 1970s, to assess Israels air force requirements in the 1990s and beyond. Officially launched in 1981, the program was ultimately cancelled in August 1987. There were a lot of politics that went into this decision. As originally envisioned, the Israeli air force planned on purchasing some 300 Lavi fighters by the year 2000. The airplane was expected to replace the A-4 Skyhawk, Kfir and F-4Es in Israeli service.

By the late 1980s, however, it had become apparent that Israels defense budget could not support the purchase of so many airplanes. The defense build-up that had followed the 1973 Yom Kippur War could not be sustained over succeeding decades. With only half of the purchasing power at their disposal that they had planned upon, Israels defense establishment began to back-away from the Lavi program. Coupled with pressure from the Weinberger Defense Department in the US, the airplane was cancelled by the Israeli Cabinet in 1987. The vote followed strict party lines: Labor in favor of cancellation, and Likud opposed. One Likud minister obstained - and the fate of the program became sealed.

At the time that the Lavi was cancelled, two prototypes had been built, and a third prototype was nearly complete. Following cancellation, the first prototype was scrapped, and the second prototype (minus its engine) was sent to the Israel Air Force Museum at Hatzerim Air Base. Israel Aircraft Industries elected to complete the third prototype as the Lavi Technology Demonstrator, and the airplane entered flight test during the 1990s. The remaining, partially built prototypes (airplanes four, five and six) were all scrapped, together with the tooling. The electronics package intended for the Lavi, however, was modularized, and pieces of it later went on to serve in other Israeli aircraft.

With regard to Chinas J-10, yes there was Israeli involvement in that program. According to one Russian defense contractor, for a time, Chinas Chengdu aircraft facility was posting signs in Hebrew for the benefit of Israeli consultants who were on-site. The J-10 is a bigger airplane, however, and does not share the Lavis electronics, nor its composite wing and tail structure.
 Theres a separate thread already started, that touches on this subject in more detail.


เว็บบอร์ดยิวพูดถึง อดีต LAVI ที่มีแผนจะนำเข้าประจำการ 300 ลำ
แต่พัฒนามาได้ 6 ปีก็ ถูกยกเลิก แล้วจีนก็น้ำไปสร้างแทนเป็น J-10


พอดีภาษาอังกฤษไม่แข็งแรง หุ หุ ทุกท่านไปตามต่อที่
http://www.israelmilitary.net/

นะครับพอดีอยากจะแปลแต่เกรงใจ