International records / Foreign Relations of the United States

99. Minutes of the Secretary of State’s Staff Meeting

an by “more conventional possibilities”? MR. NEWSOM : Increasing their tank force and tank mines, anti-tank missiles—which do not require a Presidential determination. Since that time, the Northrop people, who make the F–5E, have been talking to the Nigerians. They did not consult us before going to the Nigerians. They came in only after their efforts to sell in the final stages and the competition had narrowed down to the F–5E and the MIG –21. Our judgment is that the Nigerians, knowing that the principal weapon system of the F–5E is the SIDEWINDER, would not purchase the aircraft and would c…