Brazil Still Undecided
On Purchase Of Fighter Jets
BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva reaffirmed Friday that his
government has not made any final decision
regarding the purchase of new fighter jets.
The Ministry of Defense is still
scrutinizing the current proposals to
modernize the Brazilian Air Force, said the
president.
The statement is a response to an article
published by the local newspaper Folha de
Sao Paulo, which said the government had
already decided to buy 36 Rafale fighters
from France in an agreement worth 6.2
billion U.S. dollars.
In an interview with the local Jornal do
Comercio, Lula insisted that the decision
will take into account the technology
transfer to be offered by the bidding
competitors.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet from the U.S. Boeing
and Swedish Saab Gripen are also
participating in the bidding, which opened
in early 2009. It should have been closed
last December, but the final decision was
postponed to the first half of this year.
"One of the main exigencies is the company's
commitment to promote the unrestricted
transfer of all technology," said Lula.
He stressed the decision on the jets shall
consider the need for national defense
policy as "an axis of development and
technological autonomy."
When greeting his French counterpart Nicolas
Sarkozy in Brasilia last September, Lula
agreed to negotiate with Dassault due to
"the extent of technology transfer proposals
and assurances from the French side."
The two countries also form a strategic
alliance in aeronautic cooperation where
both "have important and complementary
advantages."
However, a report by the Brazilian Air Force
released last year recommended the Swedish
aircraft. Brasilia considers it a risky
option, since the Gripen has only been
developed very recently and is basically a
prototype.
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