Saab Strengthens Fighter Offer to Norway

Saab Strengthens Fighter Offer to Norway (NSI News Source Info) 10 August, 2008: In an attempt to strengthen its next-generation fighter aircraft bid with Norway, Saab has tendered a supplementary report to the country's Ministry of Defense (MoD) that offers more industrial offsets to Norwegian industry. The Swedish aerospace giant is competing with Lockheed Martin for a contract to deliver 48 fighter jets to the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF). The contract is due to be awarded next year, and Saab is offering its JAS Gripen against Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Saab's sweetened offer comes amid reports within the Armed Forces Command (AFC) and the MoD that Lockheed's JSF team will underpin its existing bid to the MoD by presenting a firm offer on price and delivery schedules by April 2009. "The fixed price and delivery guarantees are unlikely to happen before the Norwegian government makes its fighter choice," said an MoD source. "It is also possible that Lockheed Martin will offer similar price and delivery terms to all partner nations that commit to purchasing the aircraft." The JSF's partner nations comprise Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Saab and Lockheed submitted separate tenders to Norway for 48 aircraft on April 28, with parallel proposals governing industrial packages on offer to Norway. "We have been in discussion with over 200 Norwegian small and medium-sized, as well as larger companies since Saab offered the industrial collaboration in April," said Åke Svensson, Saab's CEO. "Together, we have defined over 150 different collaboration projects. As part of this work, we have been able to identify partners across all of Norway's provinces." Saab's April bid guaranteed industrial collaboration equivalent to 100 percent of the order value. "We have since seen even greater potential in collaboration possibilities," Svensson said. "Saab and Norway's industry sector have identified collaboration projects to such an extent that we can now increase our commitment, regarding industrial collaboration projects, to at least 180 percent of the offset value over a period of 10 to 15 years. Our discussions will continue."