Rivals in Norway warjet tender say to meet deadlineMon Apr 14, 2008 7:51am EDT
OSLO, April 14 (Reuters) - Swedish and U.S. consortia vying for a multi-billion-dollar contract to build around 50 jet fighter planes for Norway are on track to deliver binding offers by an April 28 deadline, the rival groups said on Monday.
NATO-member Norway aims to choose a plane this year to replace its ageing F-16s and has shortlisted Sweden's Gripen, built by Saab (SAABb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), and the U.S. F-35, also known as the "Joint Strike Fighter", developed by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
The manufacturers of the Eurofighter pulled out of the competition in December, saying they suspected it was tilted in favour of the American plane.
Spokesmen for the U.S. and Swedish fighter groups told Reuters they would deliver their offers on the April 28 deadline set by Norway's ministry of defence.
Earlier on Monday, Norwegian leftist newspaper Klassekampen cited a defence analyst as saying that the Joint Strike Fighter consortium would have trouble meeting the deadline.
The manufacturers are also expected to make proposals for wide-reaching industrial cooperation with Norwegian firms to offset the costs of procurement.
The Joint Strike Fighter is the most expensive weapons programme in U.S. history seen costing $299 billion.
The cost of each F-35 has risen by 38 percent from 2001 to $69.3 million per plane by end-2007.
At that price, a Norwegian order for 48 planes would be worth $3.33 billion.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL1417845220080414
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