Israel's attack planes, F-15, F-16 and Stealth.
Will the Ministry of Defense put pressure on its American supplier to save jobs in Israel? (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The Ministry of Defense is one of the largest customers of the American aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, which decided to close the Lahabim Technologies factory it purchased from the Wertheimer family, a decision that will result in the dismissal of 900 people in Israel.
Now the question is whether he will use his power in front of her to pressure her not to close her Israeli factory, and worsen unemployment in the economy, especially in the northern region.
20 years ago, the Air Force and the Ministry of Defense chose to purchase 110 Pratt & Whitney F100 engines as part of the huge deal to purchase 100 F-16i Supa aircraft, an engine for each aircraft and ten spares.
Israel then preferred the Pratt & Whitney engine over the one offered by the competitor General Electric.
The same engine is installed in the 25 F15I Ream planes that Israel purchased a decade before.
Beyond the costs of the engines at the time of purchase, in amounts of hundreds of millions of dollars, the Ministry of Defense has an agreement of a similar financial magnitude for the maintenance of the engines and their technical support with the company.
On the right: Steph Wertheimer who founded the factory in 1968. On the left - the Blade Technology factory in Tefen (Photo: Haaretz, Gil Eliyahu)
Future revenues from Israel worth 800 million dollars
What's more: Pratt & Whitney is also the supplier of the engines for the Air Force's F35 stealth aircraft, although here, unlike the other fighter jets, it is a package deal with the aircraft: the F35 does not have another engine option, and the Ministry of Defense does not purchase them directly from Pratt & Whitney, but through the US Department of Defense.
The ministry has already ordered 50 F35 aircraft, the price of each of whose engines currently stands at 24.6 million dollars, and is expected to order 25 more, in a deal that will generate income for the American company worth about 600 million dollars.
However, on the agenda is a large fighter jet procurement deal for the Air Force, in which the potential share of the American company is estimated at more than 200 million dollars.
It is about the intention to purchase another 25 F15I aircraft of an improved model, in a deal that will include about 55 jet engines: two for each aircraft and a few more spare engines.
Here again the Air Force and Ministry of Defense will have to choose between Pratt & Whitney engines and those of General Electric.
The price of a single engine for such an aircraft is estimated at about 3.5 million dollars and each F15 has two of these.
In the world of arms purchases, it is common to make deals conditional on supporting the local industry, through reciprocal purchases and guaranteeing employment in exchange for the deals.
The firm's procurement manager, together with his delegation in New York, can now put pressure on the American supplier, which enjoys high revenues from Israeli budgets, to change the decision.
A response has not yet been received from the Ministry of Defense.
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