Iran to buy two squadrons of J-10 Chinese jet fighters
25 Oct 2007
The estimated operational range of the aircraft, with external fuel tanks, is 3,000 kilometers, which technically also puts Israel within the J-10''s radius of operation. What adds a touch of irony to the proceedings is the fact that the J-10 incorporates Israeli technology, which this Mid-East nation had passed on to China in the mid-eighties. Iran swears to annihilate Israel on a periodic basis.
The transfers were made by Israel after the cancellation of its much-touted Lavi multi-role fighter project, which at that point of time was considered to be the most advanced fighter programme of its type.
The engines of the J-10 are Russian-made.
The size of the deal, if correctly reported, is estimated at $1 billion, with deliveries expected between 2008 and 2010.
The report also comes on the heels of fresh Israeli effort to supply defence technology to China, after some earlier aborted efforts (See: US may clear Israel-China spy satellite deal)
Israel
has periodically drawn fire from various sources, governmental and non-governmental,
for what is referred to as "short sighted" export policies. Reports,
for long, have claimed that long-range missiles supplied by China to Saudi Arabia
also contain Israeli know how.
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