Posted on 01/16/2002 11:19:19 AM PST by batter
TEL AVIV — China has agreed to purchase two civilian Israeli communications satellites as part of a compensation package for the cancellation of the Phalcon airborne early-warning system.
The two countries have signed an initial agreement for the Chinese purchase of two Amos high-power communications satellites, which will contain multiple transponders in a deal estimated at $250 million. The facility will be larger than the Amos-2 satellite Israel plans to launch in 2007.
The Amos HP will be manufactured by the state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries and completed by 2008. Israeli industry sources said the satellites will be purely civilian and used for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Industry sources said the satellite deal is meant to serve as compensation for Israel's cancellation of the Phalcon sale to China. They said China wants more than $1 billion in compensation for the Phalcon.
The industry sources said the satellite deal remains uncertain. One question is whether the United States will allow Israel to sell a civilian satellite to China. A bigger question is whether European space companies will be granted the export licenses to sell key components for the Amos.
IAI has used such European companies as France's Alcatel and Astrium for key systems, such as the guidance mechanism, of the Amos. Amos-1 was launched in 1996.
"It seems to me that this will mark compensation but things are far from being concluded," a senior industry source said. "Otherwise, China would have no real interest in an Israeli communications satellite."
Beijing plans to launch the satellite on either a Chinese or Russian booster. The satellite will be placed into orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers.
The negotiations for the Israeli satellite began more than a year ago, after Israel suspended the Phalcon sale in July 2000. A team from IAI's MBT division concluded an initial deal in December, the sources said.
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