-Caveat Lector- Is the Right Stuff in the Wrong Hands? A Sheik Gets an OK for Top-Flight F-16s By Bruce B. Auster, U.S. News & World Report 1 March 1999 The hottest fighter jet in the world three years from now could be flown not by American top guns but by pilots from a tiny Middle Eastern sheikdom. The plane is the F-16, the pilots are those of the United Arab Emirates, and the situation is, to some, highly troubling. 'As a war fighter, I don't want to face this stuff,' said one Navy officer who formally objected to arming an ally with aircraft better than America's own. Not long ago, the United States did not sell aircraft more advanced than its own, even to allies. The fear was that friends could turn into foes, as did Iran in 1979, or that supersecret technology could be captured by Iraq or Iran. But, pressed by warplane makers who have seen their U.S. market dry up, the Clinton administration has relaxed many of the old rules. Whistles. This case, however, is special. The 80 F-16s that Lockheed Martin Corp. wants to sell the UAE as early as 2002 for $8 billion will have equipment not expected to enter the U.S. arsenal for at least five years. Among the bells and whistles: A radar system that will permit the fighter to target objects on the ground the size of a yardstick. The Navy recently won approval to develop the system for its new carrier-based F/A-18s, but it is expected that the first U.S. aircraft to be equipped with this radar will be the Air Force's F-22 Stealth fighter in 2005. An infrared targeting system twice as capable as those on U.S. fighters. American jets will not carry this new forward-looking infrared device until 2002. A new engine design that will make the plane both more powerful and more agile than fighters in use today. Stealthy materials and coatings found on few U.S. export jets. Normally, the Pentagon would be expected to resist export of a plane this good. Indeed, when Boeing applied to sell similarly equipped F-15s to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and elsewhere, the United States denied the sale. But despite internal protests, top Defense Department officials approved the F-16 sale. A sensitive 1997 letter obtained by U.S. News, signed by then Deputy Secretary of Defense John White, offers to the top military officer in the UAE 'a firm U.S. government commitment' to equip the F-16 with the latest systems. Why this happened is not entirely clear. Some say the sale may be a trade to ensure U.S. access to bases in the UAE. Others believe the Air Force wants to keep Lockheed Martin's F-16 production lines open for the next generation fighter. Clearly, industry considerations played a role: The UAE was eyeing a competing jet being marketed by France, and Vice President Al Gore, in announcing the deal, projected that 30,000 workers nationwide would work on the project. The Defense Department insists that the sale will not alter the military balance in the Persian Gulf. Signing of a final contract, however, is delayed because the UAE, not satisfied with the promised top-of-the-line electronic-warfare hardware, wants access to secret software codes that have never been given to a foreign nation. That matter is now in the hands of top American military officials. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
