It’s not about a Goebbels-like ‘big lie’, Zedro.

I can see that as a Rafale fan you don’t much like the truth, but all the evidence is that:

1) Embraer and the FAB favoured Gripen.
2) Jobim has directed that the FAB’s preference should be suppressed (presumably to avoid embarrassing questions when):
3) Rafale will be selected as the winner.

In the light of the evidence, only a ‘deluded fanboy’ (as you put it) would claim otherwise.

Suppressing the FAB’s choice (to avoid an unsuccessful bidder sueing) only makes sense if another aircraft is then selected.

Of course.

Just ‘better’ for Brazil, perhaps?

I don’t believe that it’s all down to cost and cost effectiveness, either. The FAB don’t necessarily care about cost, but they do care about:
1) weapons integrations from all weapons sources – Gripen gets a big tick here.
2) Net centric/networked capability and Gripen beats Rafale here, too.
3) Through life costs.
4) Operation from austere/forward air bases – another Gripen advantage.

Other customers will have other priorities, and sometimes Rafale will be the ‘better’ choice.

In Brazil, Rafale will win anyway.

No.

Because the Netherlands ‘competition’ was a ‘paper only’ evaluation of aircraft that were unavailable in the standard in which they were evaluated (the JSF hadn’t even flown) and that was primarily economic.

The fact that the FAB evaluation was expected to name a winner and that it would then be publicly known made the Brazilian competition unique.

In Singapore, MINDEF announced only the winner, and the bid teams themselves remained tight-lipped. What we know we know only from anonymous sources (and what those of us know who did speak to RSAF people is bitterly denied by angry Rafale fans, who dismiss (admittedly unsubstantiated) fact as ‘rumour’).

It’s a similar story in Korea.

But it’s not the same in Brazil. For a start, FAB sources will soon speak on this, though quite probably they will do so anonymously. And it’s not normal or expected for Saab to make claims like these. They tend to play with a very straight bat. They did not claim that Gripen NG was favoured by the RNorAF – indeed they were quite candid about having to overcome a pre-disposition in favour of JSF from what had been a very happy F-16 customer.

And we’re in a situation in which Jobim has ordered the FAB not to indicate its choice, because that choice is not the aircraft that will be purchased. Glitter obviously gets it – in Brazil, Gripen is playing the part played by Rafale in Korea – favoured by the air force, and by local industry but about to be ignored in favour of a more expensive but politically favoured solution.

I think that the DACT offered by F-22 was WVR only. I believe that only Rafale has taken them up on the offer so far.

Over G,

It either happened, or it didn’t. Either I have sources (biased or otherwise) or I made it up.

The bias or otherwise of a source is irrelevant if simple fact is all that is being reported.

OPIT,

I wouldn’t dream of giving you news that might upset you!:diablo:

To anyone else,

Have patience. I’ll be writing about it. It will filter back here.

“We have no internal sources for any contenders being the favourite that the point.”

You mean that you don’t have sources…….. 😀

Internal FAB sources will soon be quoted.

In the meantime, reports that Rafale wasn’t the FAB’s choice are not ‘speculation’, they’re serious. They’re based on what senior people have said. Senior people including Tony Ogilvy, Vice-President, International Marketing for Gripen, who stated categorically that the 26,000-page report compiled by the FAB would name Gripen as the AF’s favoured platform.

That’s serious, however much you might not like it.

Just remember who revealed that the F-22 vs Rafale mission had taken place, on the day that it took place.

There are only two possible conclusions:

1) I made it up
2) I have good enough sources that I got to hear about it.

I don’t care whether or not you believe whether or not it really happened, Arthuro. I KNOW that it did.

That’s a quote from my source. I haven’t asked exactly what was meant. I was satisfied that I could work it out for myself, and I expect to learn more from a first hand source when the Rafales come home.