Oslo Keeps Fighter Options Open
To Announce Pacts With JSF’s Two European Competitors
Norway is preparing to even up the competition between the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and European rivals pursuing a possible $8 billion combat aircraft order by funding a series of development agreements involving the Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon.
Separate agreements with the European contenders are likely to be announced by the end of May, Norway’s defense minister, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, said.
She declined to give details of what is covered by the agreements ahead of an announcement. But one European industry source said it is likely the government will spend up to 300 million kroner ($50 million) on the two programs.
That will be split roughly equally between Saab and Eurofighter over a two-year period. The industry executive said there could be options to extend the deals by a further two years.
Oslo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production phase of the F-35 JSF program earlier this year, along with other international participants in the project, and is investing in Norwegian development work.
Despite the JSF signing, Oslo continues to maintain that the Lockheed Martin-led program is only one of three contenders it is considering in a competition to replace Air Force F-16s starting around 2016.
Tom Gerhardsen, president of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Norway’s leading defense industry player, disagrees with those who say the JSF signing means the advantage has swung decisively in favor of the U.S. fighter.
“In the last 12 months, the competition has become more open,” he said. “The current government is insisting on a level playing field much more than the previous government.”
Gerhardsen said the industrial packages being financed by the government aren’t a tremendous amount of money, “but it will certainly establish the two European contenders alongside JSF. It will put more balance into the competition, and provide some funds in order to start industrial programs.”
If the government maintains its schedule for decision-making on the combat aircraft program, the successful candidate will be selected in 2008.
The European development programs will be kick-started by Norway signing an MoU with the Swedish government and a letter of agreement (LoA) with industry to cover the development work, a spokesman for the Norwegian MoD said.
Since Norwegian industry has been undertaking Eurofighter development work for several years, a government-level MoU already exists. However, Oslo will sign a new LOA with the Eurofighter consortium to cover the latest batch of programs.
“We are pursuing two different paths with Saab and Eurofighter,” the MoD spokesman said. “One is the short-term LoAs we are currently negotiating, and one is long-term related to the final industrial participation plan.”
Development Work
Nobody is saying just now what the development work will cover. Some of it, though, will likely mirror the industrial agreements Lockheed Martin pulled together with the Norwegians last year, sweetening the JSF deal as Oslo stalled over whether it would sign up to the next phase of work.
A program jointly funded by Australia and Norway to study the possible integration of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s new Naval Strike Missile (NSM) on JSF is one of two potentially significant pacts.
The second is a scheme involving Kongsberg in building a facility to supply Lockheed and JSF partner Northrop Grumman with advanced composite structures.
Gerhardsen wouldn’t give details of the development packages his company is likely to be involved in with the Europeans, but said Kongsberg had already discussed integrating the NSM on Typhoon and Gripen.
A spokesman for Gripen International, the marketing arm of the Saab fighter business, said he was unable to discuss details of the development package ahead of an expected signing by the two countries’ defense ministers.
The Swedish company has offered the Norwegians the Gripen N, an improved version of its fighter with greater range and a larger payload. It has a similar specification to the fighter being proposed to Norway’s neighbor, Denmark, in a competition that also includes the JSF and Typhoon.
The spokesman said the company had been pleasantly surprised at its reception in Norway, and at the level of capability found in local industry as a result of the fighter competition discussions.
Gerhardsen said the Swedes had surprised a lot of industry and government people with regard to how hard they were trying to win over the Norwegians.
“Saab has impressed us, while Eurofighter has seemed hesitant,” he said. “Maybe we will see some changes once the LoA is signed. Eurofighter should be in a position to offer a better industrial package, but that’s not the way the picture is at the moment.”
Eurofighter declined to comment. Like Saab, the Typhoon manufacturer has been prohibited by Oslo’s MoD from talking about the development packages. •
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2697657&C=europe.
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