French / Israeli Weapons for China

This is a pretty pro-Israel blog, but I can hardly rip the Europeans for wanting to sell weapons to China, and then give Israel a pass on this one.  From the Weekly Standard:

In 1987 [Israel Aircraft Industries] was forced to cancel a program to build an indigenous fighter, the Lavi (Lion). The Lavi was a modified version of the Lockheed Martin F-16 already being used by the Israeli Air Force, but cost significantly more than the U.S.-made fighter. So the Israeli Air Force opted to stick with the off-the-shelf model.

Some time later, the technical details of the Lavi were provided to [China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group], although no government has ever officially acknowledged this fact. When the J-10 was rolled out in a public ceremony in Beijing late last year, a report in the Singapore Straits Times noted the obvious: "The Jian-10 aircraft that China unveiled recently bears a striking resemblance to the Lavi. . . . The Jian-10's sophisticated pilot helmet, which allows missiles to be aimed in the direction of the pilot's eyes, is almost certainly of Israeli origin. So are the missiles themselves, which appear to be based on the Python 4 variety manufactured by Israel's Rafael Armaments Development Authority. Neither side will admit it, but the Lavi aircraft died in Israel and has now been reborn in China."  [emphasis added]

And now the J-10 menaces Taiwan.  Thanks ever so much for that.  But as it turns out, the sale managed to turn around and bite the Israelis in the end:

In late October, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group will sell 24 of its new-generation Jian-10 (J-10) fighter aircraft to Iran in a contract valued at $1 billion.

[...]

Last week, the Paris-based defense and strategy publication TTU reported that China is planning to supply the J-10 to Syria as well.

So, Israel sold fighter designs to China, which then sells the completed jet fighters to IRAN and SYRIA.  THAT deal certainly worked out well, didn't it?  It gives me no pleasure to say this, but what the hell were you guys THINKING?

(Jianjiji-10 image from Aerospaceweb.org)

Meanwhile, the French want in on the action:

France's Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (DGA), which tightly controls all arms export sales, has been trying for more than a year to complete a sale of the Thales RC400 radar and MBDA Mica missiles to Pakistan for the JF-17 fighter. Although the JF-17 is being built under license in Pakistan, it is also a Chengdu design. The Pakistani Aeronautical Complex and its Chinese partners have comprehensive agreements that grant access for both parties to any technology acquired by the other.

Since the same French radar and missiles are on board the Taiwanese Air Force's French-built Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft, acquisition of this technology by Beijing would be a considerable blow to the defense of the island nation. India, Pakistan's neighbor and rival, also operates the Mirage 2000. If France's DGA were to allow Pakistan to acquire the radar and missiles, Taiwan and India would see their air force's investment in French jets wiped out.  [emphasis added]

The Standard goes on to say that Taiwan's investment would be wiped out because the Pakistanis have not proven themselves to be overly scrupulous in keeping Western defense technologies out of Chinese hands.

(Mirage 2000 image from Airforceworld.com)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE (Mar 3/09):  Former Soviet republics also selling hardware to China.

Comments

[JW]

There was actually a pretty complete summary describing the development of the J-10 (including Israeli involvement), published last year in the UK publication, Combat Aircraft (Vol 7 No's 8 & 9):
http://www.ianallanpublishing.com/product.php?productid=49503&cat=1037&page=1
http://www.ianallanpublishing.com/product.php?productid=51326&cat=1037&page=1

To summarize:

> Yes, Israel did supply military technology to China during the 1990s - including assistance in the development of the J-10 fighter

> Yes, the J-10 did draw on Israel's Lavi experience

> NO, the J-10 is NOT a copy of the Lavi. The J-10 is a much larger airplane than the Lavi, built around the available selection of Russian jet engines that China had access tp.

> The US government was well aware of Israeli participation in Chinese weapons programs during the 1990s - and accepted Israel's role, as well as that of various European arms deals with China.

> When the US government changed its view on China's potential threat (following a number of espionage scandals in the late 1990s) Israel halted all further cooperation with China on the J-10 or other projects.

If the US had objected early-on - rather than years later - the entire J-10 program might never have left the drawing board.

Chalk up another one to a short-sighted US administration.

[The Foreigner]

*
*
The Weekly Standard piece DOES mention the Russian jet engine angle, and further quotes the Taipei Times in pointing out that the J-10 "is the result of a combination of technology from four countries--Israel, the United States, Russia, and China."

Now, I know there was supposed to be a Western arms embargo since Tiananmen Square, so I'm going to assume that the J-10's American technological components were either sold prior to 1989 or stolen thereafter.

At any rate, from what I currently know about the issue, I'm afraid I would place the lion's share of the blame on the Israeli aerospace company that sold the plans to the Chinese. After that, I would blame the Israeli administration of the time for either approving the sale, or not monitoring the situation as closely as it should have.

And, last in order of importance, I would concur that the U.S. administration should have objected. Although for all I know, by the time they learned of the sale it may already have been a fait accompli.

Lack of American objections to another country's policies doesn't absolve the leaders of those countries from the necessity of using a bit of common sense.

[JW]

I would urge you to find yourself a copy of the original article in Combat Aircraft. There were a number of arms sales to China during the 1990s - some of which are still ongoing. This includes the sale of "dual use" technologies from the United States, as well as the sale of jet fighter engines from the UK (Rolls Royce Spey's) - which are still being delivered to China as we speak.

The US didn't take the Chinese threat seriously until 1998, and all of the West - Israel, Europe, Canada - followed the US example on this subject. China's latest assault helicopter, for example, was reportedly developed with Italian assistance, and using a "dual use" engine supplied by Canada:
http://www.newsmax.com/smith/china_military/2007/10/17/41657.html

There is a lot of blame to go around, but if the US doesn't take a stand, no one else is likely to either.

[The Foreigner]

*
*
I now seem to remember Newsweek covering the technological transfer of the Lavi blueprints. If memory serves, American conservatives at the time were warning that this was a very bad thing...

JW, you'll get no argument from me about duel-use technologies. Clearly the "It's the economy, stupid" attitude is something that caused a lot of people to ignore their Spidey-senses. That Western nations continue to provide these to the Chinese is foolish at best, and criminal at worst.

So while I agree that America should take a stronger stand on the issue, I disagree that unless America takes that stand, no one else will. Because let's face it, in this particular case, Israelis sold weapons designs to the Chinese, and the Chinese returned that favor by proliferating weapons based on those designs to a country that would like to see Israel "wiped off the map".

Given that track record, I would argue that Israel would be crazy to sell the Chinese weapons designs ever again, IRREGARDLESS of what anybody else does.

[Doron Ben Avraham]

the lavi project was stopped by U.S. because it was better than the F-16,and paided all redundencies to israei aircraft industries