DefenseNews: Hungary Investigates Gripen Deal
A Parliamentary Commission is to be instituted in Hungary to investigate allegations surrounding a tender for fighter aircraft destined for the Hungarian Air Force that was eventually awarded to a BAE Systems-Saab consortium.
The outcome of that tender process saw BAE Systems and Saab secure a contract, worth $1 billion, to deliver 14 JAS Gripen aircraft under a 10-year lease-to-own agreement slated to expire in 2016. The delivery schedule saw eight JAS-39 Gripens, including ‘A’ and ‘B’ types, delivered to the Hungarian Air Force in 2006, with the remainder in 2007.
Hungarian Defense Minister Imre Szekeres told a routine session of parliament on June 17 that the commission’s inquiry would include allegations that an Austrian intermediary on BAE Systems and Saab’s payroll may have used questionable tactics in lobbying the Hungarian government on behalf of the British-Swedish consortium.
“Due to the importance of the case in Hungary, we must analyze the Gripen decision, the tender and its consequences. The government is supportive of setting up a parliamentary commission to probe the case,” said Szekeres.
The then center-right Hungarian government initially signaled in June 2001 that Lockheed Martin’s F-16 had won the fighter jet tender. Three days later, the government reversed its position and awarded the order to Saab and BAE Systems. Saab and BAE Systems have consistently denied any impropriety.
The proposed inquiry happens as the BAE Systems-Saab consortium are under scrutiny by British and Swedish prosecutors probing allegations that the consortium may have offered unfair inducements to win a contract to sell 24 JAS Gripen fighters to the Czech Republic.