Poland, Israel Sign Missile Deal

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press Writer

December 29, 2003, 8:50 AM EST

WARSAW, Poland -- Poland and Israel on Monday signed a deal worth some $350 million over the next 10 years to provide the Polish army with some 2,700 state-of-the-art Israeli anti-tank missiles.

The "Spike" missiles, to be delivered between 2004 and 2013, will be produced under license from the state-owned Israeli Rafael arms corporation by Mesko, a Polish firm. Mesko will use components from Rafael, which will supply an initial batch of Israeli-made missiles next year.

The Spike is optically guided, can be shoulder-fired or mounted on vehicles or helicopters, and has a range of 4,000 yards, according to Rafael's Web site.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-poland-israel-missiles,0,4447727.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

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