Young Lions for the Navy

When the Navy went looking for new aircraft for its "Aggressor Squadron," the search became bogged down by the time-consuming complexities of competitive bidding. The Navy's needs were special: the Aggressor unit employs simulated Soviet planes to train U.S. pilots in aerial warfare. Last week the Navy solved its problem, agreeing to lease twelve Kfir-Ci warplanes from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) for 3 1/2 years. The Kfir is said to be superior in speed and maneuverability to the Soviet MiG-21 fighter jets.

Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. Government will pay IAI $68 million to support, maintain and slightly modify the Kfir (Hebrew for "young lion"). In January, four U.S. pilots will go to Israel for what the Navy describes as routine training. But in view of the superb record of Israeli pilots against Syria's Soviet MiGs in Lebanon, says one source who is involved in the deal, "it is hard to believe that top U.S. Navy pilots sitting around with top Israeli pilots are not going to be doing a little talking about how to counter MiGs."