GreenKnight121
2nd Oct 2008, 20:23
Brazil picks 3 finalists for fighter jet contract - BusinessWeek (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D93I2U0G3.htm)
Brazil picks 3 finalists for fighter jet contract By ALAN CLENDENNING
SAO PAULO, Brazil
Brazil's air force announced Wednesday that it will choose between American, French and Swedish fighter jets to revamp its fleet.
The short list includes Boeing Co.'s F-18 E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Aviation's Rafale and Saab's Gripen NG, the air force said in a statement.
Brazil will buy 36 new planes to replace its current Dassault-made Mirage fighter jets, with the first deliveries set for 2014. The air force did not say when it will make a final choice or how much it plans to spend, but Brazil's private Agencia Estado news service estimated it would pay about US$2.5 billion for the planes.
Each of the three finalists offers "engineering of the highest sophistication," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said, according to Agencia Estado.
Russia's Sukhoi SU-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin's F-35 were eliminated from the candidate list, the air force said.
Brazil is seeking to link its purchases of fighter jets and other defense upgrades to broader partnerships that will help the country develop its own state-of-the-art weapons industry, Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger told The Associated Press earlier this month.
"We will not simply be buyers or clients, but partners," he said. "Any arrangement into which we will enter must, in principle, contemplate a significant element of research and development in Brazil."
France this year promised to provide Brazil with technology to build the Scorpene attack submarine, a conventional diesel-powered vessel that Brazilian officials hope to use to develop what would be Latin America's first nuclear-propelled submarine.
In the mid-1980s, Brazil had the largest defense industry in the developing world. It became the world's eighth-largest arms exporter amid strong demand for its armored personnel carriers, reconnaissance and anti-aircraft vehicles, troop carriers and rocket launchers.
The industry went into a tailspin when the Cold War ended and demand for weapons declined. In 1990, Brazil's two largest arms manufacturers, Engesa and Avibras, sought protection from creditors for debts of about US$200 million.
Some statements indicate that the 36 aircraft contract is only the initial one, and the number could reach 120, with the winning aircraft eventually replacing Brazil's F-5Ms and A-1Ms (AMX) as well.
Brazil picks 3 finalists for fighter jet contract By ALAN CLENDENNING
SAO PAULO, Brazil
Brazil's air force announced Wednesday that it will choose between American, French and Swedish fighter jets to revamp its fleet.
The short list includes Boeing Co.'s F-18 E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Aviation's Rafale and Saab's Gripen NG, the air force said in a statement.
Brazil will buy 36 new planes to replace its current Dassault-made Mirage fighter jets, with the first deliveries set for 2014. The air force did not say when it will make a final choice or how much it plans to spend, but Brazil's private Agencia Estado news service estimated it would pay about US$2.5 billion for the planes.
Each of the three finalists offers "engineering of the highest sophistication," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said, according to Agencia Estado.
Russia's Sukhoi SU-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin's F-35 were eliminated from the candidate list, the air force said.
Brazil is seeking to link its purchases of fighter jets and other defense upgrades to broader partnerships that will help the country develop its own state-of-the-art weapons industry, Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger told The Associated Press earlier this month.
"We will not simply be buyers or clients, but partners," he said. "Any arrangement into which we will enter must, in principle, contemplate a significant element of research and development in Brazil."
France this year promised to provide Brazil with technology to build the Scorpene attack submarine, a conventional diesel-powered vessel that Brazilian officials hope to use to develop what would be Latin America's first nuclear-propelled submarine.
In the mid-1980s, Brazil had the largest defense industry in the developing world. It became the world's eighth-largest arms exporter amid strong demand for its armored personnel carriers, reconnaissance and anti-aircraft vehicles, troop carriers and rocket launchers.
The industry went into a tailspin when the Cold War ended and demand for weapons declined. In 1990, Brazil's two largest arms manufacturers, Engesa and Avibras, sought protection from creditors for debts of about US$200 million.
Some statements indicate that the 36 aircraft contract is only the initial one, and the number could reach 120, with the winning aircraft eventually replacing Brazil's F-5Ms and A-1Ms (AMX) as well.