Brazil has begun talks with France over the replacement of the South American country's only aircraft carrier, the Minas Gerais. The discussions took place during meetings considering a wide range of co-operative projects.
The French Direction General de l'Armements (DGA) proposed a $50 million deal to transfer the 32,000t Foch to the Brazilian navy in 2005/6. Under any agreement, the 37-year-old carrier's weapons would be removed, but its propulsion systems would be overhauled and the catapult and arrester gear replaced.
The DGA's offer comes soon after a group of French companies - Aerospatiale Matra, Dassault, Snecma and Thomson-CSF - acquired a 20% interest in Brazil's aircraft manufacturer, Embraer. All four French companies are involved in the Dassault Rafale, which the French navy is acquiring to equip the Charles de Gaulle, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier replacing the Foch, the French navy's only active carrier.
Sources indicate that a $520 million financing arrangement with the BNP Paribas Group, linked to upgrades for the Brazilian navy's Eurocopter Cougars and equipment acquisitions for the Brazilian marines is conditional on the sale of the Foch.
Brazil's Minas Gerais was completed in 1944 as a light carrier for the UK's Royal Navy. It was delivered to Brazil in 1957 and has since received six refits. The carrier needs a $20 million refit to allow unrestricted operation of McDonnell Douglas A-4KU Skyhawks acquired by the Brazilian navy from Kuwait. Without a further refit, the Minas Gerais faces decommissioning in 2006.
Brazil has reviewed a number of options to replace the ship in recent years, but budget constraints have prevented a decision.
Source: Flight International
