HammerAFP is reporting that the selection of the FX-2 winner will be postponed until after the second round of the presidential election. Lula wants do discuss this with the next president, elected on the 31st of October, before announcing the winner.
From defense-aerospace.com
It sounds like an announcement before new years is more and more unlikely…
Here in Brazil it was felt that the people running Dilma’s capaign got too sure that the presidency would be won by them in the first round and apparently got rather sloppy and arrogant in the last weeks. This behaviour is called in Brazilian slang “salto alto” (literally “high heels”) and is seen as being very disrespectful to the average voter… So she was effectively “punished” for that and told to run a second election by the voters. Lula’s reasoning on the newspaper is a way of trying to sound “Humble” to try to please the voters, nothing more…
Now Dilma still sports a sizeable lead over Serra and will only loose this election if she or someone on her camp does or says something VERY STUPID!
So if Lula really wanted he could move this deal ahead without it being any kind of real problem… Only now he has to deal with the “salto alto” issue if he does push this too toughly before the 2nd election on Oc31st.
Is this clear?
Regards,
Hammer
HammerHi Snow Monkey,
What I meant by “Italian-style ship combo” is the very same package that is being discussed between Italy in Brazil currently (5 OPV+1 tanker+5 6000 to Frigates)…
Regards,
Hammer
@Hammer, by “Italian-style ship combo” are you referring to more capable radar/ AAW set, or something else?
From what I can tell, DCNS will be offering Greece a version of FREMM upgraded beyond that ordered by France, so they could be offering that version or a related variant tailored to Brazil`s requirements.
HammerFrance has recently said that they too will offer the “Italian-style ship combo” package to the Brazilian Navy and now Daewoo is set to follow with a KDX-II derivative! Looks like the Italians are now facing a rival industry stampede moving against them! Watch out Fincantieri!
Comments?
Hammer
HammerSerra is widely (in)famous for being the least military-friendly politician here in Brazil…
BUT, having said that, the main result of Nelson Jobim’s tenure in the Ministry of Defense has certainly been the radical transformation of what used to be exclusively “military needs” into now new “national heavy industry needs”, and it goes without saying that the “Capitains of (mostly Heavy Construction/Engineering Services) Industry” certainly have much more “pull” over the politicians in Brasilia then any General, Admiral or Brigadier ever had in the history of Brazil.
If Nelson Jobim did his job well even if he leaves the Ministry we’ll see these military modernization/expansion deals move ahead unhindered…
If this is true Serra might not be able to freeze or cancel these investment trands.
Best Regards
HAmmer
HammerIn a new twist to this saga, today the government candidate in the presidential elections, Mrs Dilma Rousseff, despite the current president’s more than 80% approval ratings, failed to win more then half of the valid votes. This means that there WILL BE a runoff election against runner up José Serra on Oct 31st, efectively postponing any F-X2 decison until after that date…
Regards,
Hammer
HammerI think this is slightly more then a run of the mill pressure tactic over the French…
Regards,
Hammer
Dispute over article freezes France-UAE arms talks: source
By Emmanuel Jarry
PARIS | Fri Oct 1, 2010 2:53pm EDTPARIS (Reuters) – A row over a French newspaper article is behind the breakdown of talks for a sale of French warplanes to the United Arab Emirates worth $5-6 billion, a senior French government source said on Friday.
UAE officials were angry about a June 26 article in Le Figaro, owned by conservative politician Serge Dassault, whose family-controlled Dassault Aviation made the Rafale, government officials said.
The newspaper said the UAE used Israeli technology to help secure its borders. Business with Israel remains a sensitive subject in the Gulf where most countries including the UAE have no relations with the Jewish state.
“We understood that it (the suspension) was for several months and we hope the talks will resume,” the senior government source said.
A spokesman for Dassault Aviation declined comment.
Officials in Abu Dhabi could not be reached for comment on Friday, which is the local weekend.
The article appeared days after French Defense Minister Herve Morin said a sale of 60 Rafale aircraft to the UAE was near completion in what would be the plane’s first export deal.
Asked on Friday on the television Parliamentary Channel if talks over arms sales to foreign countries including Brazil and Abu Dhabi had been derailed, he said: “Nothing is messed up.”
Word that talks over the sale of Rafales could be in trouble surfaced last month when specialist publication Defense News reported that Abu Dhabi had expressed interest in the Boeing F/A-18, a U.S.-built competitor to the Rafale.
Sources familiar with the issue confirmed to Reuters in Washington this week that UAE had asked for technical information about the F/A-18 Super Hornet, puncturing exclusive talks with France on the Rafale.
Talks over the deal have already taken some time as the UAE pressed for changes to the Rafale including better radar and a more powerful engine to cope more quickly with heavy armament loads given the UAE’s proximity to its main regional rival Iran.
The Rafale was originally designed to protect France against threats waged over longer distances during the Cold War.
The UAE wanted France to boost the thrust on the Rafale’s Snecma M88 engines to 9 metric tons from 7.5 metric tons. But there have been protracted negotiations over who should pay for the enhancements, defense industry executives said recently.
(Writing by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by John Irish; Editing by Louise Ireland)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6904SF20101001
HammerI’d say the next weeks will be tough for them!
On the other hand the UAE 60 Rafale order loss should have the French reeling in pain by now! This also pretty much excludes these aircraft from being used by Dassault as a stop-gap strategy before any new-build Rafale are available for delivery to Brazil…
As they say in America: “The plot thickens”!
Regards
Hammer
Hammerhere is the original link
nic
Google tranmslation…
A brazilian aeronautical engineering company virtually unknown outside of Sao Jose dos Campos before the F-X2 program , Akaer appeared in the press as the first company to join the Gripen program, even without the assurance that this would be the next generation fighter model chosen to replace the current Brazilian fighters. “Our work together with Saab, participating in the Gripen NG program, is completing now a full year. At the end of this period we have exchanged a lot of information with the Swedes, together we created manufacturing, investment, quality, production and engineering plans for the new model. Our engineers, on their computers in Brazil, remotely access Saab’s corporate network. To do this we had to create new working environments that are safe, both physically and logically, “said to ALIDE, Cesar Silva, director of the company.
“Our work on this project begins with a detailed (CAD design) of the final shape of the landing gear doors and the individual parts that make up the wings and center and rear fuselage modules. After that, comes the stage of ‘preparation for industrialization’, which involves the manufacture of ‘head of production’, or copies of reference (roughly, the ‘prototypes’) components designed in the CAD system. In the coming days we should call the Brazilian press to formally announce the ‘release of the first part,’ the conclusion of the first 3-D drawing done in Brazil for Saab. “
“We now know, this past year that Saab already has much confidence in us,” adds Cesar. For the director of the Brazilian company this “trust” is precisely what qualifies them to receive even more business from the Swedes. They see the Brazilian company as a way to reduce costs in various programs, not just in the Gripen NG, without compromising quality. Saab is currently developing and manufacturing doors for the Boeing 787, and several other components for Airbus aircraft.
Asked about the industrial impact of a possible selection of Gripen for Indian Air Force, Cesar said, “whatever we have already developed ir would not make any sense to redesign from scratch, so to Akaer, it might even be an opportunity to add HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) as a new customer of our engineering services. “
Akaer is part of rhe Brazilian consortium “T1” which aims to occupy a new niche in the supply chain of the aerospace industry both nationally and internationally. Different from Embraer, which aims to develop from the concept their own products, through T1 Akaer prefers to be outsourced for large-scale subassemblies, assuming the detailed design and subsequent assembly of sub-assemblies working for major manufacturers such as Saab and Embraer itself.
Asked about the recent visit of the new CEO of Saab to Brazil, Cesar Silva said that “The importance of the Brazilian program to Saab is clear Hakam Buskhe is coming to Brazil, after only 24 days in office. He visited the Defence Minister, Nelson Jobim, to introduce yourself and then went to Sao Bernardo do Campo to meet mayor Luiz Marinho, an enthusiastic supporter of the Gripen manufacturing program in Brazil. While in Brasilia Bushke spoke to reporters about his company’s interest in setting up a research center here that would worked very closely both industry and the Brazilian universities. This center aims go beyond the Gripen program, initiating developments in the areas of avionics, radar systems and public safety, particularly aimed at the big public events (World Cup 2014 and Olympics 2016) planned to take place in coming years. ” The three focused areas are not yet very developed in Brazil and mark an important evolution in the technological base of the country. In an interview in Brasilia, Saab said the new center would be made in São Paulo, but after the subsequent meeting with the mayor of São Bernardo it was announced that it would be set up in that city. By mid-October the Director of the Research Area of Saab will come to Brazil to set the details of this project that an investment should consume between 40 and 50 million dollars, right now a Swedish team in Brazil is developing studies and business plans for this new venture.
Cesar also said that “the NG is a profound change for the Gripen program. For Brazil the direct participation of our industry in this program would give us the ability to keep evolving the platform in the future, even without the participation of the Swedes. This plane is ours! The test campaign will all be held in Brazil. “
About the proposed naval version of the NG, Cesar said that “the work of our company in the structure of the NG already takes into account the perspective of furure structural reinforcements should it be decide to develop this new naval version. Having this in mind at this point in time will greatly simplify the job of developing the Sea Gripen later on, we won’t have to start from square zero. And we can only do this because Saab has already completed the first studies of this variant. As the Sea Gripen will be heavier than Gripen NG, the structure that we are now creating for land model already takes into account future demands, the new loads, landing speeds and arrested landing envelopes , etc.. The final performance specifications will be established by the Navy of Brazil, and it is up to Saab refine the basic design to meet them. ” In conclusion, Cesar said that “One of the greatest strengths of the Sea Gripen is that he is being thought to be able to use both traditional catapults and ski-jumps, according to the preference of the Navy. Embraer, of course, would be the leading company in the Brazilian development program of the Sea Gripen. “
In addition to projects with Saab Akaer is still currently involved in the upgrade program dos Bandeirantes FAB along with the Brazilian company Aeroeletronica. Here Akaer is responsible for the design of the structural modernization and production of mechanical and electrical kits, used in this program.
HammerHot from the oven, published today!
Google is doing a rather passable translation of the original portuguese text.
Coments?
Regards,
Hammer
HammerHmm probably wouldn’t be the massive international outcry you envisage. China would be annoyed, Russia could go either way. Japan, South Korea, probably most of Europe wouldn’t be too bothered or would openly support it.
And lets remember that the only nuclear weapons that North Korea can detonate would be on their own soil. They’d also be a top priority target – B2’s, Tomahawks, and a lot of US marines would be tasked onto capturing and/or destroying the nuclear sites and weapons.
Notice how “easy” it looks when you look at this issue from your own ‘distant’ perspective? Wonder why the US or even Japan doean’t seem to see things your way… 😉
Regards, Hammer
HammerHmm probably wouldn’t be the massive international outcry you envisage. China would be annoyed, Russia could go either way. Japan, South Korea, probably most of Europe wouldn’t be too bothered or would openly support it.
And lets remember that the only nuclear weapons that North Korea can detonate would be on their own soil. They’d also be a top priority target – B2’s, Tomahawks, and a lot of US marines would be tasked onto capturing and/or destroying the nuclear sites and weapons.
Notice how “easy” it looks when you look at this issue from your own ‘distant’ perspective? Wonder why the US or even Japan doean’t seem to see things your way… 😉
Regards, Hammer
HammerStill on this subject, what was the last major (3000 ton+) warship exported by British shipyards new to a foreign client? Don’t tell me it was the 4 Niteroi Class Frigates to Brazil…
Regards,
Hammer
HammerThis is a blueprint for chaos of George Bushian proportions! Any remaining international goodwill that Obama might still have would be wasted finally. As paranoid as the North Koreans are known to be who really believes that all the eggs would just stay there ina a single proverbial basket just available for such a freak decapitation attack by the Americans or the South Koreans.
Secondly there is still the MINOR fact that the North Koreans still have nukes and the means to use them specially if the leadership of the country is wiped out like this…
No this is not going to happen/
Regards,
Hammer
HammerThis is a blueprint for chaos of George Bushian proportions! Any remaining international goodwill that Obama might still have would be wasted finally. As paranoid as the North Koreans are known to be who really believes that all the eggs would just stay there ina a single proverbial basket just available for such a freak decapitation attack by the Americans or the South Koreans.
Secondly there is still the MINOR fact that the North Koreans still have nukes and the means to use them specially if the leadership of the country is wiped out like this…
No this is not going to happen/
Regards,
Hammer
HammerHi Swerve,
The Inhaumas are very complicated ships with a number o MAJOR design flaws identified and have also been subjected to as debilitating lack of regular maintenance… I think that the MB will want to get them out of the way as soon as possible… The Improves Niterois, although older have undergone a major revamp some years ago.
Regards
Hammer
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