T-50 Golden Eagle. Photo: Wiki Commons

UPI – Israel’s Defense Ministry chief Udi Shani has flown to South Korea for what looks to be the final round of talks on a hotly contested $1 billion contract for 25-30 supersonic trainer jets sought by Korean Aerospace Industries and Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi.

Shani, the ministry’s director general, was in Italy last week for bargaining sessions with Alenia Aermacchi, which has offered its M-346 Master as a replacement for the Israeli air force’s venerable Vietnam War-era Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, which are being retired.

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