US forces Sweden out of 126 fighter plane bid
fruitella
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US armtwists Israeli firm on IAF deal: Report
6 Jul 2009, 0331 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Jostling seems to have begun among contenders for the
`mother of all defence deals' -- the Rs 42,000 crore project to
acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for IAF -- with
field trials slated to begin in July-August.
Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported that US has pressurised
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to back out of partnership with
Swedish aerospace company Saab, which is fielding its Gripen fighter
for the MMRCA contract.
The Israeli defence ministry ordered IAI to pull out of the deal with
Saab after Pentagon expressed concern that US technology would be
integrated into the Gripen offered to India. "The stated concern was
that western technology in Israeli hands would make its way to the
Indians," an Israeli official told the newspaper.
But what was found "strange" with the US request was that American
aviation majors Boeing and Lockheed Martin are themselves in the fray
for the lucrative MMRCA deal.
Israeli officials said US had probably intervened because if IAI
competed for the deal with Saab, it would force Boeing and Lockheed
Martin to lower their prices.
Incidentally, Gripen is considered to be one of the cheapest among the
six contenders, which include the American F/A-18 `Super
Hornet' (Boeing) and F-16 `Falcon' (Lockheed Martin), French Rafale
(Dassault), Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation) and
Eurofighter Typhoon (consortium of British, German, Spanish and
Italian companies).
All the contenders have already mounted high-voltage campaigns in the
hotly-contested race, worth around $10.4 billion, in which India is
sure to factor in its geo-political considerations as well, as
reported by TOI earlier.
The six fighters are to be put through the paces in two sets of field
trials conducted in summer and winter, ranging from the snow-capped
peaks of Leh, scorching Rajasthan desert (Jaisalmer) and humid
conditions of south India (Bangalore).
Moreover, the fighters will also be evaluated in the countries of
their origin. So, in effect, the trial results will be out only by
mid-2010 at the earliest.
The commercial bids will only be opened, examined and compared after a
shortlist is made of the top two or three contenders following the
extensive field trials and staff evaluation.
With the final negotiations to begin thereafter, the entire process is
expected to take a minimum of two years before the deal is actually
inked. While 18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf, the rest will be
manufactured in India under transfer of technology.
David E. Powell
Maybe this is one reason less nations use Swedish jets, which have a
history of being quite good. Sad if true.
Urban Fredriksson
fruitella <visual...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Poor Sweden :(
Not necessarily. Gripen NG will be offered with an AESA
radar from Italian SELEX Galileo.
<http://www.gripen.com/en/MediaRelations/News/2009/aesa_radar_for_gripen_ng.htm>
You can also wonder if this is good or bad news for Boeing
and Lockheed Martin.
<http://g2globalsolutions.com/review/?p=1948>
<http://ericpalmer.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/u-s-knocks-gripen-out-of-india-fighter-deal-via-israel/>
--
Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
"It is bad luck to be superstitious." - Andrew W. Mathis
Mikael Forsberg
The best reason might be that the Wallenberg family controlling the
Swedish economi for a century together with the socialist party, no
longer can act as they used to be able to, handle taxes and people at
personal likeness. But certainly SAAB makes good products.
Regards
Mikael Forsberg