Brazil's Military Future Multi-Billion-Dollar Jet Fighter Deal

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won't decide on the future partner for Brazil's military aircraft industry in a deal that involves a multibillion-dollar jet fighter purchase from the winning bidder.
Instead Lula is leaving the decision to his successor, President-elect Dilma Rousseff, who takes office Jan. 1, Lula told official television station TV Brasil.

The United States, France and Sweden are in the race to win a contract that includes an option to buy another 100 jets from the successful supplier over the coming decades.

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf weighed in to support of SAAB's Grippen fighter, French President Nicholas Sarkozy openly canvassed for Dassault's Rafale and White House support behind Boeing's F-18 fighter was widely reported in Brazil.

Lula indicated he favored buying Rafale as France offered the best technology transfer deal and expressed concern the U.S. Congress might block or restrict any Boeing deal. Grippen won support from Brazil's military strategists because of its lower cost. Swedish lobbyists also took mileage out of Queen Silvia's Latin American connection as the offspring of a German father and Brazilian mother.

High-powered lobbyists from the rivals have frequently beaten the path of the capital, Brasilia, but have failed to glean any useful information on which way Brazil would go next year.

"It's a very big debt, it's a long-term debt for Brazil," Lula said in comments cited by Agencia Brazil and MercoPress during the television appearance.

"I could sign off on it and do a deal with France but I'm not going to do that," Lula said. Critics of Rafale say the jet fighter has never been sold outside France and Dassault hopes to use a sale to kick-start a global marketing campaign. Dassault has its eyes on India and Kuwait among potential customers for Rafale.

Lula said the final decision would rest with Brazil's National Defense Council, which includes Cabinet ministers, armed forces commanders and the president.

Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, who has been closely involved with the negotiations with Dassault, Saab NG and the Boeing Co., will continue his job in the new administration.

Jobim echoed Lula's view that the French offer was the best because of its technology transfer package but senior Brazilian air force commanders favored the F-18 despite a smaller technology transfer package. Supporters for cost-effective Grippen also weighed in but analysts said the Swedish bid still faced more critics within Brazil's decision-making machinery.

The choice of a jet fighter for a fast modernizing air force ties in with Rousseff's plans to create a new civil aviation secretariat that will incorporate departments under defense. The plan is part of an urgent strategy to reverse the poor reputation of Brazilian aviation infrastructure ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Officials say the new government is keen to begin an extensive overhaul of Brazilian aviation -- both civil and military -- and promote more sophisticated manufacturing of aircraft for expanding national networks and for export.

READ MORE

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF

Mossad & CIA Committed 9-11: Italian President Francesco Cossiga

Source: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=114778 Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy’s oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies. The evidence that Mossad planned 911 using Arab patsies is overwhelming; Mossad were caught filming the attack from Liberty Park and then later said on Israeli TV that they were sent there to document (they along with nearly 200 Mossad were rounded up and sent back to Israeli in the weeks following the attack, preventing the FBI from questioning them). Only 5 Israeli's died in the WTC attack; 3 on the airplanes and 2 in the buildings. It is a fact unexplainable by Zionists apologists that Idigo, and Israeli messaging service sent a warning in Hebrew worldwide that a terror attack would happen in a few hours on the da

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

ASIAN DEFENCE

Search This Blog