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4/25/09

Defense News: Saab Makes Case for Gripen as F-X2 Choice - by Antonie Boessaenkool

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Saab Makes Case for Gripen as F-X2 Choice - by Antonie Boessaenkool

In a press briefing at the Latin America Aerospace and Defense conference, executives of Swedish company Saab appealed to Brazil's desire to gain technology through its fighter jet competition, and said Saab would make offset investments in Brazil equal to the size of the contract, which Brazil plans to award this year. The euro 1.88billion ($2.2b) competition for 36 fighters pits the Gripen against Boeing's F-18 and Dassault's Rafale.

Bob Kemp, Gripen International's sales and marketing director says: "More than 99 percent of fighters worldwide come from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and I can tell you those guys don't go around handing out their technology. That's why they still have over 99 percent of the market. If you want to do something different and control your own destiny, there is only one choice, and that is Sweden's Gripen." Saab has completed 78 test flights with the Next-Generation Gripen it is proposing for Brazil's contest, Kemp said. The company received nine requests for proposals or for information involving the Gripen from countries worldwide.

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