Gripen comes out top in ranking on Bulgaria’s
fighter jet acquisition
Written by The Sofia Globe staff on
April 26, 2017 in Bulgaria - Comments
Off on Gripen comes out top in ranking on Bulgaria’s fighter jet
acquisition
Bulgarian defence experts have ranked the
offer by Sweden’s SAAB-Gripen to supply new multi-role fighter jets to the
Bulgarian Air Force as the best received – but on April 26, the caretaker
government in Sofia decided to leave to the coming Boiko Borissov government
all decisions on negotiations and further steps.
It will be up to the next government, expected
to take office in early May, to decide whether to negotiate solely on the
acquisition of Gripen fighters or also to talk to the other two bidders,
Portugal and Italy.
The latter two countries offered Bulgaria not
new fighters, but second-hand aircraft: in the case of Portugal, US-made
F-16s, and in the case of Italy, Eurofighters.
Earlier estimates were that the deal
was expected to cost about 1.5 billion leva. Sweden’s Gripen offer was
seen as having the advantage not only of the aircraft being new, but also that
the first deliveries could take place within an 18-month timeframe, and the
offer was more price-competitive than the other two. Gripen also has put
forward a comprehensive package including an easy payment plan, as well as
pilot and technical training components, among others.
The cost will include eight fighter aircraft,
ground equipment, weapons and simulators.
Because the price tag exceeds 100 million
leva, the deal will be subject to approval by the National Assembly.
A Nato member since 2004, Bulgaria has only a
small fleet of ageing Russian-made MiG fighters which fail to meet Nato
standards. A succession of governments in Sofia have failed to conclude a deal
to acquire the new multi-role fighter aircraft.
/Panorama
Original post: sofiaglobe.com
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