Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has announced that the SAAB Gripen NG fighter jet has been selected for the FX-2 program of the Brazilian Air Force.
The decision to buy 36 Swedish jets has come after 10 years of negotiations and speculations.
Along with the eventual winner, other two contenders took part to the bid: the French Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
The Rafale was discarded for its higher cost, causing an angry reaction by Dassault, that in a subsequent press conference said: “We regret the choice has gone in favor of Gripen, an aircraft provided with many items of equipment of 3rd party origin. […] “This financial rationale fails to take into account either Rafale’s cost-effectiveness or the level of technology offered.”
Boeing Super Hornet was considered the favorite until the Snowden scandal brought to light that the NSA (National Security Agency) had been spying on Brazilian companies, agencies, officials and the president herself: in a direct attack on US electronic surveillance at the UN general assembly, Rousseff accused Washington of breaching international law.
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Diplomatic relations between the two countries suddenly worsened and the chances Boeing could win the Brazil’s bid became paltry.
Marcelo R Silva contributed to this post
Image credit: MBDA
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