DTN News: French President Nicolas Sarkozy Confident Brazil To Buy French Rafale Jets

DTN News: French President Nicolas Sarkozy Confident Brazil To Buy French Rafale Jets Source: DTN News / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, - April 14, 2010: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday that he was confident Brazil would purchase 36 next-generation fighter jets from France even though the time may be running out to close a deal. Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance, and high-accuracy strike or nuclear strike deterrence. The aircraft has been developed for the French Air Force and Navy. 61 aircraft were ordered (36 for the air force and 25 for the navy). The Rafale M entered service in 2001, and ten aircraft are operational on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. Rafale B and C entered service with the French Air Force in June 2006, when the first squadron was established. The second air force squadron was set up in 2008. Brazil is in the final stages of buying 36 jets worth more than $4 billion, which are to be assembled locally. The deal could eventually rise to more than 100 aircraft. The three finalists are the Rafale made by Dassault (AVMD.PA), the Gripen NG made by Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST), and the F-18 made by U.S.-based Boeing Co (BA.N). But Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim has said he favors the Rafale. "I am confident," Sarkozy told reporters on the sidelines of a summit on nuclear security hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. "It is developing precisely on schedule." The coming months are crucial since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has said he strongly favors the Rafale for political reasons, will leave the presidency later this year. A Brazilian election is scheduled for October.

(Writing by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Chris Wilson)