스웨덴 SAAB, 중고 F-16 과 동일한 가격으로 Gripen C/D 전투기 판매...

 

스웨덴 Saab 社가 JAS 39 Gripen C/D 전투기를 중고 F-16 Falcon 과 동일한 가격으로 동유럽 국가 루마니아와 불가리아에

판매할 의향이 있다고 밝혔다는 2개의 소식을 전합니다.

 

3월말 루마니아는 중고 F-16 Falcon 을 구입할 계획이라고 발표를 한 바 있습니다. 이에 Saab 와 BAE Systems 가 다양한

반응을 보인 바 있으며, 여기에 덧붙여서 최근 Saab 의 반응이 매우 적극적인 내용이 있어 소개합니다.

 

즉 루마니아와 불가리아 모두 원한다면, 신조 Gripen 전투기를 중고 F-16 Falcon 가격으로 공급하겠다는 얘기입니다. 아래

기사에서도 언급이 되어 있습니다만, 중고 Falcon 의 경우 1기당 약 5,400만불 선인데, Gripen 역시 이 가격에 제공하겠다는

것 입니다. Gripen 모델은 C/D 형으로 생각됩니다.

 

중고 F-16 Falcon 의 가격이 5천만불 이상이라는 점도 놀랍지만, 동일한 가격대로 신조 Gripen C/D 형을 공급하겠다는 Saab

의 제안 역시 매우 파격적인 것으로 생각됩니다. 과연 이러한 제안에 대해서 루마니아와 불가리는 어떠한 반응을 보일지 주목

됩니다.

 

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The Associated Press April 15, 2010, 10:28AM ET

Sweden urges Romania to buy Gripen fighter jets

BUCHAREST, Romania

 

Swedish officials have urged Romania to scrap a plan to purchase second-hand U.S.-made F-16s and to buy new Gripen jet fighters made by Sweden's SAAB AB instead.

 

Last month, Romanian officials said they would propose to Parliament a purchase of the used F-16s, and the move was criticized for a lack of public debate and transparency.

 

Details of the proposed deal were not released, but Romanian media said the government would pay € 1 billion ($1.3 billion) for 24 secondhand F-16s. Authorities cited financial reasons to choose the F-16s to modernize Romania's army.

 

On Thursday, Swedish government official Jerry Lindbergh said in Romania that the country could buy 24 new Gripen fighters for the same price. He said the Gripen purchase could be paid over 15 years at a low interest rate.

 

Mats Aberg, Sweden's ambassador to Romania, said the country is free to choose whatever planes it wants, but he urged transparency with the competing deals. He said the Gripen jets are smaller than F-16s, so that Romania wouldn't have to adapt its runways to use them.

 

"We have formally offered to go to Parliament to give them the information," Aberg said.

 

Romania's government declined to discuss the two offers, and it was not immediately known when Parliament would debate or vote on the issue.

 

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Saab Lures Bulgaria to Buy Gripen Fighter Jets

Novinite.com, Defense, April 14, 2010, Wednesday

 

The Swedish company Saab has offered Bulgaria Gripen fighter jets at the price of second-hand US F-16 planes.

 

Daniel Boestad, Director of Saab International for Bulgaria, has stated, as cited by Darik Radio, that the offer is favorable for Bulgaria because it saves money without compromising on quality.

According to Boestad, the fighter aircraft offered by Gripen have a number of advantages compared to second-hand F-16 planes or the Russian MiG-29 planes that are currently employed by the Bulgarian Air Force such as the lower maintenance cost and smaller land teams needed for servicing them.

The Swedish manager has pointed out that the purchase of second-hand fighter jets is very risky and expensive.

“The fact that the exploitation period of the second-hand planes is almost over will mean that Bulgaria will have to launch a new procedure for purchasing fighter jets within several years,” said Boestad.

The state finances and respectively the funding for the Bulgarian Army are in a rather deplorable condition so one of the options for buying new military equipment is the purchase of US fighter jets together with Romania.

The Bulgarian government has made no final decision yet. However, the Head of Defense (formerly known as Head of the General Staff of the Army), General Simeon Simeonov recently stated that Bulgaria needs to buy multipurpose fighter jets, and that it needs to buy new ones rather than second-hand.

 

  ⓒ Saab AB

 

  ⓒ Saab AB