Brazil today announced that it had selected the French-built Rafale fighter over Sweden's Gripen and the U.S. Super Hornet, a landmark decision likely to impact the international market for fighters. The plan to buy 36 aircraft could be worth up to $7 billion.
With billions of dollars on the line, competitions to buy advanced fighter are rarely about just who has the best aircraft. Countries muster all their diplomatic and economic persuasion skills to influence the potential buyer, and in that respect, the French came out on top. "The [French] government launched a massive effort to become more supportive of industry," Robert Wall writes on Aviaton Week's Ares blog. "And, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been aggressive – some may say shameless – in acting as the chief salesman for the country’s aerospace and defense industry."
Sarkozy visited Brazil and personally lobbied for the French jet. That sort of high-level political attention is harder for U.S. manufacturers to match.
In the case of Brazil, the government also pushed very hard to ensure the winner would enhance Brazil's aerospace industry. There, again, France had the advantage. The United States has traditionally been more resistant to transfer technology, and the Swedish-built Gripen, which includes American technology, it also subject to U.S. technology controls.
The technology factor was likely critical. "What's important for us is to have access to the technology to make this plane in Brazil," said Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to AFP. "That's what we're currently negotiating."
Update:
Just hours after announcing plans to move forward with negotiations with the French, the government has backtracked a bit and it looks like the multi-billion competition isn't quite settled. Flightglobal's DEW Line blog and Aviation Week's Ares blog both report that Brazil's president may have jumped the gun. It turns out the air force hadn't submitted their technical review of the competing aircraft and is claiming that no decision has been made.
