http://www.haaretz.com/, A military delegation from South Korea is in Israel to examine the possibility of purchasing four early-warning aircraft from Israel Aircraft Industries in a deal estimated to be worth $1 billion. The South Korean air force delegation has evaluated the early-warning systems that IAI installs on the Gulfstream jets acquired for the Israel Air Force.
With the approval of the Defense Ministry, IAI has informed the government of South Korea that it would be willing to transfer technology for early-warning systems.
IAI will compete for the contract with the South Koreans with U.S. giant Boeing and its proposal for an early-warning system on Boeing 737 jets. South Korea is interested in completing its selection process by the end of the year.
The IAI offer is more than $500 million dollars cheaper than the Boeing proposal; but the 737 is a much larger aircraft than the G-500 executive jet offered by Gulfstream. The 737 has room for 10 stations for operators of electronic equipment, while the the aircraft offered by IAI has room only for six.
IAI maintains that the aircraft, equipped with electronic systems of its daughter company, Elta, is sufficient to meet the geostrategic needs of South Korea. In talks with members of the visiting delegation, it was made clear that the Israel Air Force opted for the Gulfstream for reasons of cost and efficiency.
IAI is making the case that if the Elta systems are chosen, the production line of seven aircraft (three for the IAF) will substantially reduce the cost of the deal.
