Japan To Add To Fighter Contests

(MoneyWatch)  Currently two of the most sought after contracts for American and European aviation contractors are the new Indian and Brazilian fighters. The two contests have been underway now for over a year with companies like Boeing (BA); Lockheed Martin (LMT); Rafael of France; MiG of Russia; Sweden's SAAB and the European consortium Eurofighter all challenging each other for these deals. With the domestic market in the United States committed to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Europe finishing their buy of Eurofighter's Typhoon the companies need these overseas contracts.

The models being offered tend to be the advanced versions of aircraft that first entered service in the late Eighties and Nineties. These include the F-18, MiG-29, the Grypen as well as the more modern JSF and Typhoon. Brazil seems to be going back and forth between the Rafael and the Grypen with Boeing's F-18 also in play. In India the contest is more wide open and currently is undergoing and evaluation of the different proposals to make sure that they meet the minimum requirements before moving on to the full source selection evaluation.

Now word is coming out that Japan is interested in buying a new fighter in the next few years. This aircraft will replace aging F-4 Phantoms and supplant the existing more modern F-15 Eagle fleet. Despite their economic doldrums Japan has consistently invested in their military. The recent election of the liberal government has caused some changes in plan with delays to submarine construction and the deployment of the PATRIOT missile systems. If the decision is made to go ahead with the new aircraft contract it would signify at least a decision by that government to go ahead with some parts of the planned modernization.

Due to the declining demand in their native countries the military aircraft companies must get these foreign contracts or see an end to production of some aircraft. Once production ends it is very expensive to restart and re-qualify production lines. That is why the decision to end production of the F-22 with last year's orders means that the chances of building more is very limited.

The Rafael has never been sold to any customer other then France and its sale to Brazil is very important to the company. A recent decision by Brazil to buy Eurocopter helicopters and the capability to produce them has given Dassault hope that they might win the aircraft contract. SAAB too needs to sell their aircraft overseas as Sweden will soon end its buys of the modern aircraft. This situation is such that SAAB offered Norway a deal that was very competitive with that NATO country's contract to buy the F-35.

In Boeing's case the F-18 production will end soon as the F-35 begins to be delivered to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The 2011 defense budget did not add F-18 as some had hoped but did increase the number of the electronic warfare variant to be used by both the Navy and the Air Force. If there are no foreign sales of the aircraft the U.S. will be reduced to one fighter manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, with the F-35 replacing the F-16, A-10 and F-18. Many of the U.S. allies are also buying F-35 to replace the F-16 aircraft acquired in the Eighties and Nineties. It will become the dominant military aircraft in the West's inventory.

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