The Brazilian military-industrial complex puts Gripen (and F-18) ahead of Rafale in Brazilian fighter contest.

[Adar]

The Brazilian fighter procurement is shaping up to be far more fun that previously anticipated. In september President Lula stated that there where ongoing negotiations for Brazil buying Rafales from Dassault, thus essentially dismissing the entire FX2 competition that is conducted to decide on Brazils next generation of fighter aircrafts.

On september 28th Embraer’s Deputy Chief Executive for the defense market, Orlando Jose Ferreira Neto stated that Embraer had told BAF (Brazilian Air Force) that the industrial exchange package from SAAB was the most beneficial one for Brazilian Aerotech industry. On january 5th FAB COPACs technical evaluation was leaked and revealed to have Gripen as the best offer, F18 as 2nd best and Dassault Rafale as the worst option of the three finalists. President Lula have responded and stated that the decision is political, not technical but it looks like he is going to have to pay a heavy political price to force through a buying of the Rafale.

Dassault have also lashed out against Boeing and SAAB for spreading inaccuracies about Dassault Rafale (article). But my personal favourite is the French defence minister stating that Rafale is a "Ferrari compared to Gripen, which is a Volvo". Apart from the fact that Ferrari is Italian (I guess saying Peugot would have ruined the comparasion),I also think that Volvos lower costs, higher reliability and greater comfort makes it a much better buy than a Ferrari. Especially if you plan to use it in a war

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Jan 5/09: The Brazilian air force’s Comissao Coordenadora do Programa Aeronaves de Combate (FAB COPAC) has produced its technical evaluation, based on aircraft performance, purchase and lifetime costs, and industrial benefits. The report was ratified by FAB command on December 18th, and media reports from the Folha de Sao Paulo claim that FAB’s executive summary had Saab’s Gripen as the preferred choice, with Boeing’s Super Hornet in 2nd place, and the Rafale last.
The final decision will be President Lula’s, but despite a MdD statement that the report has not been formally delivered, it’s likely to raise the political cost of going ahead with the Rafale deal. The dates involved also shed new light on the government’s mid-December 2009 decision to postpone their final decision, as FAB commander Brigadier Juniti Saito was with Defense Minister Jobim on end-of-year trips to China, Ukraine, and Paris, and COPAC Brigadier Dirceu Tondolo Noro was reportedly called to join them in Paris at the last minute.
Lifetime cost is a very significant issue for the FAB, which understands the inevitable swings that accompany military budgeting in a commodity-driven economy. Saab claims a price of around $70 million (currently around EUR 50 million), which would be 60-70% of the Rafale’s offer price, depending on which sources one believes. Dassault has sort of denied that the Rafale would be 40-50% more expensive (q.v. Nov 12/09 entry), and also contests Saab’s claim that the Gripen NG’s operating and maintenance cost per flight-hour would be just 25% of the twin-engine Rafale’s, but the French firm has not publicly offered any detailed figures. In terms of the politicians’ most important benchmark, the FAB also reportedly gave Gripen NG the edge in industrial benefits, siding with Brazilian industry in believing that a project in development offers greater opportunities to expand Brazilian technologies and skills than a finished product like the Rafale. FAB release [Portuguese] | Folha de Sao Paulo [Portuguese] | Poder Aero [Portuguese or Google’s amusing auto-translation] | Reuters.

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[Treize]

A very big shame for SAAB...
I hope they get more orders soon.

[Adar]

A very big shame for SAAB...
I hope they get more orders soon.

It's still not decided yet. Basicly it's President vs military-industrial complex. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if this drags on until after the elections and the whole competition is made again .