Alexandre Rocha
São Paulo – The president of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, Maurício Botelho, made his strongest defence of the advantages of the Mirage 2000 BR today (18). The aircraft is being offered by the Brazilian company together with French Dassault in a tender promoted by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) for the purchase of 12 new supersonic fighters.
"The result of the tender should come out at the end of the month, and we expect to win," stated Botelho during an event for the announcement of the Embraer results in 2003. According to the executive, of the five participants in the tender, the "three strongest" are Embraer/Dassault, Gripen International, and consortium Roboronexport, which is offering the Sukhoi 35.
"If the government has decided to invest as much as US$ 1 billion in the deal, and the country is lacking in so many areas, then it must be of great importance," he stated. According to Defence minister José Viegas, the value of the tender is around US$ 700 million. However, Botelho stated that the value covers just the value of the aircraft, whereas it is also necessary to arm them, elevating the value of the contract to over US$ 1 billion.
According to the executive, the Embraer/Dassault proposal is the only one forecasting technology transfer from the French company to its Brazilian partner. This, he explained, will guarantee the FAB "independence" in deciding what use to make of the aircraft and what kind of weapons they will carry. "This is the strategic value of our product," he added.
Competitors
Considering this point of view, he disqualified the main competitors. According to Botelho, 50% of the technology on the Gripen is of US origin, and the United States do not permit military technology transfer to other countries.
"They (Gripen) can swear that they are going to transfer technology, but the Brazilian government is not going to believe in fantasy, that the USA is going to permit technology export," he declared. Gripen is made up of Swedish company SAAB and British BAE Systems. Apart from that, Botelho stated that the Mirage is the fastest, has the greatest weaponry capacity, and has larger reach than the Gripen.
With regard to the Russian Sukhoi 35, he stated that, although Russian aeronautical engineering is unquestionable, the Slavic country has industrial problems, which may cause delays and parts supply problems. Botelho added that the Sukhoi 35 is still a prototype and there are worldwide only five units in operation. "If the Brazilian government decides to buy, then there will be 17 prototypes, not production in series. It would be a bet, but I believe in good sense," he concluded.
