Lula: Brazil still undecided on purchase of fighter jets

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reaffirmed Friday that his government has not made any final decision regarding the purchase of new fighter jets.

The Ministry of Defense is still scrutinizing the current proposals to modernize the Brazilian Air Force, said the president.

The statement is a response to an article published by the local newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, which said the government had already decided to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France in an agreement worth 6.2 billion U.S. dollars.

In an interview with the local Jornal do Comercio, Lula insisted that the decision will take into account the technology transfer to be offered by the bidding competitors.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet from the U.S. Boeing and Swedish Saab Gripen are also participating in the bidding, which opened in early 2009. It should have been closed last December, but the final decision was postponed to the first half of this year.

"One of the main exigencies is the company's commitment to promote the unrestricted transfer of all technology," said Lula.

He stressed the decision on the jets shall consider the need for national defense policy as "an axis of development and technological autonomy."

When greeting his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Brasilia last September, Lula agreed to negotiate with Dassault due to "the extent of technology transfer proposals and assurances from the French side."

The two countries also form a strategic alliance in aeronautic cooperation where both "have important and complementary advantages."

However, a report by the Brazilian Air Force released last year recommended the Swedish aircraft. Brasilia considers it a risky option, since the Gripen has only been developed very recently and is basically a prototype.

Source:Xinhua