이스라엘, F-35 JSF 구입계약 임박...

 

그동안 미국과 지루하게 끌어온 이스라엘의 F-35 JSF 구입 관련협상이 거의 마무리 되었으며, 곧 공식 발표와 함께 계약서에

서명할 것이라는 로이터 통신의 보도입니다.

 

이스라엘의 F-35 구입 규모는 총액 약 30억불(USD)에 19대를 구입하는 조건이라 합니다. 그동안 이스라엘이 F-35 구입과정

에서 지속적으로 요구해 온, 이스라엘産 항전장비의 장착 문제에 대해서도 양측이 어느 정도 만족할 수준의 합의를 본 것으로

보도하고 있습니다. 구체적으로 어떠한 종류의 이스라엘産 장비가 장착 될지는 좀 더 지켜봐야 할 것으로 생각됩니다.

 

이번 이스라엘의 F-35 JSF 계약이 성공적으로 이루어진다면, 이스라엘은 미국을 비롯한 F-35 JSF 개발 참여 9개국을 제외한

첫 해외 고객이 되는 것이며, F-35 구입에 관심을 가지고 있는 대한민국을 비롯하여 그리스, 벨기에, 스페인, 싱가포르, 일본

그리고 핀란드 등과의 협상에도 진전이 있을 것으로 기대됩니다.

 

지난 주 캐나다가 발표한 F-35 65대 구입의 정식 계약은 2014년에 이루어질 것이라는 점 참조바랍니다.

 

한편, Lockheed Martin 은 美 국방성과 32대의 F-35 JSF Batch 4 물량에 대해서도 곧 계약할 것이라는 보도입니다. 가격은

앞선 Batch 3 보다는 약 20% 그리고 Batch 1 계약액과는 약 50% 정도가 내려간 것이라 합니다.

 

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U.S., Israel close to deal on F-35 fighters

Reuters News, 07/19/2010

Author: Andrea Shalal-Esa

© Reuters Limited 2010.

 

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 19 (Reuters) - The United States and Israel are days away from reaching an agreement on the sale of 19 Lockheed Martin CorpF-35 fighter jets, which would be the first foreign military sale of the new warplane.

 

"The ball is in their court," Vice Admiral Jeffrey Wieringa, who heads the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told Reuters at the Farnborough Airshow.

 

"I am waiting for them to make a decision any day," said Wieringa, who is retiring at the end of the month.

 

Lockheed declined comment on the status of the arms deal, since it will be concluded between the U.S. and Israeli governments, but said the fact that Israel wants to buy the new F-35 fighter underscored global confidence in the jet.

 

Analysts say the deal is worth about $3 billion.

 

"When they select F-35, we believe it's a testimony to the capabilities of the jet," Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed's vice president for F-35 business development, told Reuters, noting that Israel faces some formidable security challenges.

 

Lockheed said it is close to reaching an agreement with the U.S. government on procurement of a fourth batch of 32 F-35 fighters, and a deal could come "any day."

 

Company officials, speaking in interviews and at a news conference, underscored their commitment to working with the Pentagon to continue driving down the cost of the F-35 program -- at over $300 billion the biggest weapons program in history.

 

O'Bryan said the contract for the fourth batch of airplanes would be 20 percent lower than that of the previous batch of fighters, and half the price of the first batch.

 

"We think the early signs are encouraging, but there's a lot of work to do," O'Bryan said.

 

FIRST FOREIGN MILITARY SALE

 

Israel would be the first foreign country to sign an agreement to buy the F-35 outside the eight international partners that have helped develop the plane.

 

The deal has been in negotiations since September 2008, when the Pentagon first approved the sale of 25 fighters with an option for 50 more in coming years.

 

News of the imminent Israeli deal comes less than a week after Canada, one of the eight development partners, announced that it will buy 65 new fighter jets from Lockheed for C$9 billion ($8.6 billion).

 

Lockheed is developing the new F-35 fighter in cooperation with Canada and seven other partner countries: Turkey, Britain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands.

 

O'Bryan said both deals were good news for cost-cutting efforts on the $300-billion-plus arms program, since they would increase the economies of scale for the program, which includes many automated production facilities.

 

Wieringa said the agreement had strong support from top Pentagon and Obama administration officials, who view arms sales as "part and parcel" of U.S. national security policy.

 

He declined to give any details on what specific radars and other equipment would be included with the F-35 fighters to be sold to Israel, which had expressed concerns early on about lacking access to some critical technologies for the plane.

 

One source familiar with the discussions said that in the end Israel had been satisfied with the level of technology included in the agreement.

 

Singapore, Japan and South Korea are also considering buying the Lockheed F-35 fighter to modernize their air forces.

 

O'Bryan said the United States has also given classified briefings to other countries interested in the F-35 fighter, including Greece and Belgium. Finland and Spain are also interested in the new warplane, he said.

 

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

 

 

  ⓒ Lockheed Martin