A GLANCE at the Bulgarian Ministry of Defences shopping list for the modernisation of the countrys armed forces shows that it is on the lookout for a new multi-role fighter aircraft.
The ministry wants new multi-purpose fighters, complete with modern electronic equipment, to NATO standards. It is envisaged that the acquisition will take place between 2005 and 2015.
Daniel Boestad, sales director of the Anglo-Swedish firm Gripen international, believes that his company has one that fits the bill.
Boestad hopes that Bulgaria will make the same choice made in recent years by South Africa, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and opt for the Gripen fighter.
While South Africas set of purchases was among the largest arms acquisition process by any country in recent years, with billions of dollars being spent on everything from corvettes to submarines to fighters, the deals involving the Czech Republic and Hungary are more closely comparable to the situation in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian air force has outmoded, nearly obsolete MiG fighters, a legacy of its former association with the Soviet Union. The situation was similar in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Each of these two countries, like Bulgaria new members of NATO, agreed to a deal involving the acquisition each of 14 fighters.
Both took the aircraft on the basis of 10-year leases, to be converted into purchase at the end of a decade.
We are quite flexible about whether the aircraft are acquired through leasing or through outright purchase, as well as about other aspects of a deal, Boestad said.
The Gripen fully meets NATO interoperability requirements, he said, and is likely to be a hit with any air force operating it, if not with anti-aircraft batteries trying to bring it down. It also boasts the best in IFF (Identification Friend or Foe the part of an aircrafts system that enables it to distinguish friends from targets, and identifies the aircraft to allies as one that should not be in their sights), Boestad said.
With the acquisition of Gripens comes options regarding training of pilots and crew, according to what client countries want.
Former MiG pilots who have trained on Gripens have welcomed the change. Flying a MiG is not an easy thing to do, Boestad said, at the same time paying tribute to the pilots who had done the conversion course.
Key to any modern arms acquisition deal are the offset packages, which sales people of weapons and military materiel hook to their potential for job creation, and, for example, technology transfers.
The deals negotiated with South Africa, Hungary and the Czech Republic had different elements.
We can bring in investments, help Bulgarian exports, and help Bulgarian industry to grow, Boestad said.
Gripens SAAB background links it to companies like ABB and Ericsson.
Asked to quantify the job creation impact of such offset deals, Boestad said this was difficult to do at the outset of a programme, because the impact would become clear only in the medium to long-term, perhaps over a period of 10 years.
Boestad will be making regular trips to Bulgaria to engage with various key people in the decision-making process. The process is complex, and Bulgaria will be conducting evaluations before making any decisions. On the question of offsets, negotiations in any acquisition would be directed to making it right for the country, Boestad said.
In the meantime, he says, an important sales point is the affordability of the Gripen. Maintenance of a Gripen fighter is relatively cheap and easy, and at the same time the aircraft is suitable for most terrains. It is not suitable for aircraft carrier use, but developers have begun work on this question.
Boestad points to the background of the development of the fighter as evidence of its affordability, because the original commission from the Swedish government required affordability, writing in penalties that would have come into effect in the event of failure to meet this requirement.
Another key aspect is the adaptability of the Gripen in terms of weapons systems. The Swedish air force, for example, uses a great deal of American weaponry, and it was not complicated to fit this to the Gripen. Weaponry, from air-to-air to anti-shipping, may be fitted, and while the Gripen is carrying out its business, it may carry on doing so as a mission requires, thanks to its in-flight refuelling capability.
The ministry wants new multi-purpose fighters, complete with modern electronic equipment, to NATO standards. It is envisaged that the acquisition will take place between 2005 and 2015.
Daniel Boestad, sales director of the Anglo-Swedish firm Gripen international, believes that his company has one that fits the bill.
Boestad hopes that Bulgaria will make the same choice made in recent years by South Africa, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and opt for the Gripen fighter.
While South Africas set of purchases was among the largest arms acquisition process by any country in recent years, with billions of dollars being spent on everything from corvettes to submarines to fighters, the deals involving the Czech Republic and Hungary are more closely comparable to the situation in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian air force has outmoded, nearly obsolete MiG fighters, a legacy of its former association with the Soviet Union. The situation was similar in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Each of these two countries, like Bulgaria new members of NATO, agreed to a deal involving the acquisition each of 14 fighters.
Both took the aircraft on the basis of 10-year leases, to be converted into purchase at the end of a decade.
We are quite flexible about whether the aircraft are acquired through leasing or through outright purchase, as well as about other aspects of a deal, Boestad said.
The Gripen fully meets NATO interoperability requirements, he said, and is likely to be a hit with any air force operating it, if not with anti-aircraft batteries trying to bring it down. It also boasts the best in IFF (Identification Friend or Foe the part of an aircrafts system that enables it to distinguish friends from targets, and identifies the aircraft to allies as one that should not be in their sights), Boestad said.
With the acquisition of Gripens comes options regarding training of pilots and crew, according to what client countries want.
Former MiG pilots who have trained on Gripens have welcomed the change. Flying a MiG is not an easy thing to do, Boestad said, at the same time paying tribute to the pilots who had done the conversion course.
Key to any modern arms acquisition deal are the offset packages, which sales people of weapons and military materiel hook to their potential for job creation, and, for example, technology transfers.
The deals negotiated with South Africa, Hungary and the Czech Republic had different elements.
We can bring in investments, help Bulgarian exports, and help Bulgarian industry to grow, Boestad said.
Gripens SAAB background links it to companies like ABB and Ericsson.
Asked to quantify the job creation impact of such offset deals, Boestad said this was difficult to do at the outset of a programme, because the impact would become clear only in the medium to long-term, perhaps over a period of 10 years.
Boestad will be making regular trips to Bulgaria to engage with various key people in the decision-making process. The process is complex, and Bulgaria will be conducting evaluations before making any decisions. On the question of offsets, negotiations in any acquisition would be directed to making it right for the country, Boestad said.
In the meantime, he says, an important sales point is the affordability of the Gripen. Maintenance of a Gripen fighter is relatively cheap and easy, and at the same time the aircraft is suitable for most terrains. It is not suitable for aircraft carrier use, but developers have begun work on this question.
Boestad points to the background of the development of the fighter as evidence of its affordability, because the original commission from the Swedish government required affordability, writing in penalties that would have come into effect in the event of failure to meet this requirement.
Another key aspect is the adaptability of the Gripen in terms of weapons systems. The Swedish air force, for example, uses a great deal of American weaponry, and it was not complicated to fit this to the Gripen. Weaponry, from air-to-air to anti-shipping, may be fitted, and while the Gripen is carrying out its business, it may carry on doing so as a mission requires, thanks to its in-flight refuelling capability.
