No Rafales for Brazil !

[Tintin]

Just read this article in french:

http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-p ... 293_53.php


Short translation:

Brazilian President Lula, announced yesterday to President Sarkozy, that purchase of 36 Rafales won't be honoured by himself, as he will leave the presidency next month.
An oral agreement was concluded on September 2009, but no contract signed.

With severe budget cuts in Brazilian economy, and the fact that the Rafale is the most expensive of the three aircraft selected, we can say another time that "This is the end"...

[perrie]

That's really bad news for the French military industry!!!

Per

[Stratofreighter]

WIKILEAKS...
http://search.nasdaq.com/search?q=cache ... ISO-8859-1

Wikileaks: US Embassy Said Brazil Air Force Prefers F-18 Jets

By Matthew Cowley, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Brazil's Air Force commander, Brigadier Juniti Saito, told U.S. officials in mid-2009 that a perceived lack of U.S. government support

undermined Boeing Co.'s (BA) bid for a multi-billion dollar Brazilian fighter jet contract, according to U.S. documents revealed by WikiLeaks Sunday.

Question regarding the U.S. government's commitment to technology transfer to accompany Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter remain "a significant political barrier," Saito is reported to have told the U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Clifford Sobel.

Sobel wrote a cable July 31, 2009, outlining his talk with Saito, according to WikiLeaks.

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia couldn't be reached for comment by telephone, and didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.
A spokesman for the Brazilian Defense Ministry didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.

The value of the contract to supply 36 jet fighters hasn't been revealed, but it's estimated at between $4 billion and $10 billion, depending on the final choice, maintenance costs and armaments.

In the cable, Sobel reported that Saito said "there was no question from a technical point of view that the F-18 was the superior aircraft."

Saito asked the U.S. ambassador for a letter assuring the Brazilian government that U.S. technology transfer would be forthcoming, according to the cable.

"This was Saito's clearest expression that he plans to recommend the F-18," said Sobel.

Saito is reported to have told the ambassador that "the French can't complain as they just signed a $14 billion deal with Brazil" for submarines and helicopters, according to the cable.

Earlier that year, in May, U.S. Deputy Chief of the United States Mission in Brazil, Lisa Kubiske, had also sent a cable highlighting the political concerns.

"Although the major decisions to approve the transfer of technology ... have been made, Brazilian leaders continue to doubt U.S. ability to follow through," Kubiske is reported to have written.

Kubiske suggested seeking U.S. Congress support to allow the U.S. Export- Import Bank to finance the sale.
Unlike the other two bids, the U.S. can't offer government financing, as the Export-Import Bank is prohibited from engaging in sales of defense articles, according to the cable, and Brazil would have to secure commercial financing at higher rates for the F-18.

Kubiske also asked for President Barack Obama to send Lula a letter underscoring the U.S. commitment to the bid, and recommended taking "steps to erode the French political edge."