Brazil selects Boeing, Dassault, Saab in jet bid

[Rabbit]

Brazil selects Boeing, Dassault, Saab in jet bid
Wed Oct 1, 2008 4:25pm

BRASILIA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's air force said on Wednesday it had chosen U.S.-based Boeing Co., France's Dassault and Saab of Sweden as finalists in a tender for 36 fighter jets as part of a fleet renewal.

The air force wants a next-generation, multi-role fighter jet to replace its entire fleet over the next 15 years. That could eventually increase the size of the jet order to more than 100 aircraft.

Six manufacturers participated in the tender, but only Boeing's F-18 E/F Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale, and SAAB's Gripen jets got through to the next phase of bidding, the air force said in a statement.

The fighter jets excluded from the tender were Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter's Typhoon, and the Russian Sukhoi SU-35, which neighboring Venezuela has bought recently.

Brazil wants a generous technology transfer package, possibly including local assembly, to help develop its own defense industry and perform maintenance on the aircraft.

Latin America's largest country is expected to sign in December a strategic defense alliance with France, including the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine in Brazil.

The U.S. government, which would buy the aircraft from Boeing and sell them to the Brazilian government, has the last word on technology transfer.

But Boeing suggested on Wednesday the U.S. government would agree to the transaction, despite its past reluctance to transfer sensitive military technology to Brazil.

Boeing expects the Brazilian air force to decide on the contract late next year. The tender calls for the first aircraft to be delivered in 2014. (Additional reporting by Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo) (Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Todd Benson and Patrick Markey)