TPT March 2014

Global Marketplace

westward from Ceyhan. As well as for the signing parties, the Turkish-Kurdistani deal holds immense significance for major oil companies. But the activation of the pipeline angered Baghdad, which claims sole authority for the management of Iraqi oil. A penalty for snoopery? Boeing’s loss is Saab’s gain as Brazil picks a Swedish-made fighter jet over the American front-runner Brazil has awarded Saab a ten-year, $4.5 billion contract for 36 fighter jets, a prize that was widely considered Boeing’s to lose – which it did, in a keen disappointment for the US aircraft maker. The Brazilian defence minister, Celso Amorim, told reporters at an 18 December news conference in Brasilia that the Swedish aircraft maker was selected over Chicago-based Boeing because it had agreed to share more technology with contractors and because many parts for the new jet, the Gripen NG, would be made in Brazil. The announcement came at a time of heightened tension between Brazil and the United States. In September, the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, cancelled a state visit

to Washington after revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on foreign heads of state, including her. At the United Nations that month, President Rousseff sharply criticised the US for its “illegal interception of information and data.” When asked at the news conference in December if the spying had anything to do with the decision to award the contract to Saab, Mr Amorim did not answer directly. Instead, he reiterated what he had said in a statement: that the decision in favour of Saab was based on the three factors of performance, effective transfer of technology, and costs – “not only of acquisition, but also of maintenance.” From São Paulo, Brazil, New York Times reporter Dan Horch noted that Brazil did have financial and practical reasons to award the contract to Saab. Both jets under consideration use the same engine but the Super Hornet, Boeing’s contender, has two engines; the Gripen, one. A study cited by Mr Horch, from the military publisher IHS Jane’s, said that the Gripen costs about $4,700 an hour to fly – the lowest among modern fighter jets – versus $11,000 for the Super Hornet. (“Brazil Snubs Boeing in Fighter Jet Deal,” 18 December) › Richard L Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia, estimated the cost of a basic version of the Gripen at about $45 million, compared with $55 million for the basic F/A-18 Super Hornet. He supposes that indignation over NSA spying was a lesser factor in Brazil’s choice of Saab over Boeing than cost.

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