Jerusalem Post

Israel unveils new air-to-air missile

By Arieh O'Sullivan TEL AVIV (May 4) - The Defense Ministry revealed yesterday that Israel has developed a new over-the-horizon, air-to-air missile called the Derby, which could rival the dominant US-made counterpart.

Developed and produced by Rafael, the government-owned Israel Armament Development Authority, the Derby is to go on public display for the first time at the Paris Air Show this June, the ministry said.

The Derby is one step beyond the already renowned Python 4 short-range air-to-air missile as it extends its reach beyond visual range.

The highly-agile, radar-guided missile can be fired at either short or medium ranges in all weathers, a Defense Ministry statement said.

"The Derby missile is operational after having been examined, checked and proven in a great number of successful launchings," the statement said.

The IAF is likely to have already equipped its squadrons with the Derby, which probably has a range similar to the US AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. Although precise figures are classified, this range is probably about 60 kilometers.

The Defense Ministry said that the Derby can be adapted for use on all small aircraft like the F-16, F-5 and Mirage. It has also been designed to use the same launcher as the Python-4, which will allow Rafael greater market flexibility.

Showcasing the Derby missile puts Israel in direct competition with the United States which has hitherto dominated the beyond-visual-range market with the AIM-120 .

The project director for the Derby, Uzi Ganani, said the new missile is lighter than the AIM120 and marks a "major advancement," because it has advanced programmable electronic counter-countermeasures which overcome aircraft anti-missile defenses.

Ironically, Israel started to develop the Derby after the United States initially refused to sell it the AIM-120. It was only after Washington found out about the success of the Derby project that it changed its mind.

This is a tactic used consistently by the United States against foreign defense industries. A similar thing happened when Israel sought a particular radar system for the advanced F-16 I fighters.

Washington initially refused to allow Israel to purchase the hardware and only after a local defense manufacturer developed a similar powerful radar system, did the United States change its mind and actually insist that Israel purchase the American product.

The Derby will be a centerpiece of the Israeli stand at the annual Paris air show next month, where multimillion-dollar arms export deals are often negotiated.

Israel and the United States, with its powerful defense industry lobby, have been at odds over weapons sales.

Defense officials in Tel Aviv were most recently embarrassed when it was revealed that the Chinese fighter which collided with an American surveillance plane was armed with a Python-3 heat-seeking missile sold by Rafael.

Rafael and the US-company Lockheed Martin reached an agreement last year to jointly market Israel's Python 4 air-to-air missile around the world, but this has reportedly been blocked by the Defense Ministry's refusal to transfer technology to the United States.

Yiftah Shapir, co-editor of the Middle East Military Balance published by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, said competition with the US defense industry could strain political relations with the United States.

"It's a very fierce competition," he told AP. "The American industry will do everything to twist the arm of Israel and its prospective buyers. The political implications could be overwhelming."

The two countries are locked in such a contest over a $250 million contract to sell anti-tank missiles to the Netherlands, a contest that could determine who wins deals with other NATO countries.

Non-NATO member Finland has already decided on Israel's anti-tank missile, the Spike, increasing the chance that other European Union countries will follow - a market that Israel's Arms Development Authority estimates to be worth more than $2 billion over the next five years.

(News agencies contributed to this report.)

-- Anonymous, May 04, 2001