, BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazil's Air Force met Thursday with five groups competing to sell Brazil fighter jets worth up to $700 million, restarting a tender which was suspended early this year.
In a brief statement, the Air Force said all five groups came to the meeting which was intended to provide information on how the process will proceed for what would be the biggest Latin American arms deal in years.
The tender was suspended earlier this year when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decided to prioritize spending on social programs.
The aim of the meeting was to provide the bidders information on the “procedure of the activities related to the updating of the offers presented,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Defense Minister Jose Viegas has said the government will have a decision on which planes to purchase no earlier than January 2004, and that the delay would allow firms to update their offers with new technological advances.
The bidders include U.S. firm Lockheed Martin Corp. with its F-16 fighter, Sweden's Saab and BAE Systems Plc with the Gripen jet. Russia's Sukhoi is bidding with its Su-35 “Super Flanker” fighter, and the Russian MIG jet maker is also a contender.
Brazil's Embraer and France's Dassault Aviation SA have jointly presented a special version of the Mirage strike plane.
The deal is to replace ageing Mirage fighters.
Source: Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service
