 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Copenhagen, Denmark (UPI) Apr 7, 2011 The Eurofighter consortium wants back into the race to outfit Denmark's armed forces with a new fighter jet. "What we're saying is that while there is no official Danish tender at present, Eurofighter wants to participate in such a competition when the new tender is launched," military news Web site Defensenews.com quoted Eurofighter spokesman Marco Bonelli as saying. Due to budget issues, the Danish government last spring put its fighter replacement program on hold and said it would revisit it in 2012. The Eurofighter consortium left the initial bid in December 2007, saying the conditions clearly favored Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Also in the race are the Gripen NG from Sweden's Saab and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet. Apparently, this has now changed. "The Danish political, military and competitiveness picture is different," Bonelli told Defensenews.com. "The Eurofighter has also changed a lot. It is now a much more mature combat aircraft and we can make a more complete, affordable and competitive offer to Denmark." Its pilots are flying updated F-16 fighter jets taking part in an international mission in Libya. Danish military officials have in the past lobbied to restart the fighter program, saying pilots would benefit from the advanced stealth technologies offered by the planes in the competition. "There is no doubt that if we had the availability of a fighter with stealth characteristics, and difficult to track by radar, it would be a comfort-enhancing factor for pilots," Maj. Gen. Henrik Roboe Dam, the head of the Danish air force's Tactical Air Command, told Defensenews.com. Designed and built by a consortium of three European companies -- German-Spanish European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., Finmeccanica from Italy and Britain's BAE Systems, the Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing multi-role aircraft. It's in service with six nations -- Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain, Austria and Saudi Arabia. Eurofighter jets from the British air force last month flew their first combat missions while patrolling the no-fly zone over Libya. The plane is also competing for a $10 billion contract to outfit India's air force with 126 new multi-role fighters. The sale of fighter jets has increased over the past years. Sales of combat jets and their related components accounted for 34 percent of the global arms market from 2005-09, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said last November. Russia and the United States remain the most successful suppliers of combat jets.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
India inches closer to major aircraft dealNew Delhi (UPI) Apr 7, 2011 India's air force won't accept any last-minute offers from bidders in a 126 medium-multi-role combat aircraft deal expected to be worth around $11 billion. "No offers for upgrades or changes in the original bid submitted by the six aircraft companies would be allowed as their aircraft have been judged on the basis of capabilities offered in the original bid and their performance in the ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
