Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008

U.S. asks Brazil to buy Boeing fighter jets

By Alan Clendenning
Associated Press

 SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The U.S. Embassy said today that it is encouraging Brazil to buy Boeing-built F-18 Super Hornet fighter jets -- one of three models selected by Latin America's largest nation as finalists for a fleet revamp.

The embassy declined comment on whether a deal would include technology transfer -- a key demand by Brazil's government as it upgrades its armed forces.

But its statement said the "U.S. regards Brazil as a key strategic partner and supports Brazil's program to modernize its armed forces."

"Purchase of the F18 with its superior technology will be an important step in developing our partnership," the statement added. "We are fully behind Boeing's sales effort."

Boeing Co. said selection of the F-18 for the jet fighter short list "reinforces the Super Hornet's ability to meet the operational requirements of the Brazilian Air Force and the forward-leaning stance of the U.S. government regarding transparency and technology release."

Brazil is expected to make a final decision late next year, the company said.

Brazil will buy 36 new planes to replace its current Dassault-made Mirage fighters, with the first deliveries set for 2014.

The selection of the F-18 came as surprise because top Brazilian officials said recently that France and Russia were willing to provide a higher level of defense technology transfer than the United States.

The other fighter jet finalists are Dassault Aviation's Rafale and Saab's Gripen NG. Brazil will buy 36 jets.

Russia's Sukhoi SU-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin's F-16 were eliminated from the candidate list, the air force said.

Brazil is seeking to link its purchases of fighter jets and other defense upgrades to broader partnerships that will help the country develop its own state-of-the-art weapons industry, Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger said earlier this month.

"We will not simply be buyers or clients, but partners," he said. "Any arrangement into which we will enter must, in principle, contemplate a significant element of research and development in Brazil."

France this year promised to provide Brazil with technology to build the Scorpene attack submarine, a conventional diesel-powered vessel that Brazilian officials hope to use to develop what would be Latin America's first nuclear-propelled submarine.

Brazil in the mid-1980s had the largest defense industry in the developing world. It became the world's eighth-largest arms exporter amid strong demand for its armored personnel carriers, reconnaissance and antiaircraft vehicles, troop carriers and rocket launchers.

The industry went into a tailspin when the Cold War ended and demand for weapons declined. In 1990, Brazil's two largest arms manufacturers, Engesa and Avibras, sought protection from creditors for debts of about $200 million.
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