Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) recently held a ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport after the delivery of the 200th G200 executive jet to Gulfstream Aerospace. IAI executives and Gulfstream CEO Joe Lombardo and senior VP finance and planning Dan Clare will attend.
IAI and Gulfstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), have been collaborating for seven years, ever since IAI sold the manufacturing licenses for its Astra SPX Galaxy executive jet to the company. These formed the basis for the Gulfstream G100 and G150 executive jets and later for the larger G200 jet.
IAI manufactures the planes and delivers them in unfinished, or "green", condition. The planes are flown to Gulfstream's factory in Nebraska for interior outfitting as specified by the customers.
Gulfstream spokesman Robert Baugnier said in Savannah, Georgia, that the sale of the 200 executive jets for $4 billion over the past seven years was "a significant achievement in the competitive executive jet market. "The G150 and G200 models create a lot of jobs in both Israel and the US," he said.