Downed Chinese F-8 carried
Israeli missile
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, April 16, 2001
TEL AVIV — China has deployed Israeli air-to-air missiles on its F-8
fighter-jet, one of which was downed during a crash with a U.S spy plane on
April 1.
The Israeli Haaretz daily reported that the Chinese F-8 fighter-jet
contains the Python-3 air-to-air missile. The misile was developed and
produced by the state-owned Rafael, Israel Armament Development Authority.
The Python-3 missile can be seen in a video taken in January that was
played during a weekend news conference by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld after the release of the captured American crew. The crew of the
EP-3 plane was released last week.
The newspaper said Israel's defense officials are concerned that the
appearance of the Python-3 on the Chinese F-8 could lead to renewed U.S.
demands to end all defense cooperation between Jerusalem and Beijing. In
July, the Republican-dominated Congress and the Clinton administration
pressured Israel to halt the sale of the Phalcon airborne early-warning
system to China.
Since the suspension of the sale, Israeli-Chinese military cooperation
has been shelved. Over the last few months, officials from both countries
are discussing a revival of such relations.
The Python-3 was sold to China with U.S. consent, Israeli defense
sources said. Israel has since developed and marketed the Python-4.
Monday, April 16, 2001
|