EUROPEAN AND US fighter manufacturers are preparing to make initial offset offers to the Norwegian defence ministry as Oslo takes the initial steps towards acquiring a next-generation fighter.
A Lockheed F-16 team was in Norway during the first week of March to discuss offset, and Eurofighter will present the defence ministry with an initial offset offer in April.
Dassault's Rafael, the McDonnell Douglas F-18 and Saab JAS.39 Gripen are also expected to be involved in any bid.
Norway is looking for a replacement for its Northrop F-5 Freedom fighters. The Lockheed F-16s now in service will also eventually be replaced. The F-5 replacement alone is estimated to be worth $2 billion.
Eurofighter confirms that it has received a request for information from the Norwegian Government. Offers of as much as 100% offset are to be presented to Norway in April.
A Eurofighter delegation recently visited 15 Norwegian companies to assess the country's industrial capabilities, and an offer is now under preparation.
French rival Dassault is also talking to Norwegian industry and is believed to be considering up to a 120% offset proposal.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence says that the F-5/F-16 replacement "...is not yet a project", and definite numbers of aircraft, budgets and in-service dates have not yet been decided.
F-5s and F-16s are now undergoing upgrade programmes. Wing improvements on the Norwegian air force's 20 F-5s are to be completed in the second quarter of 1997, while the mid-life update of its 60 F-16s will be completed by 1998.
According to the defence ministry, the F-5s will be phased out of service between 2000 and 2004, when an initial batch of replacement aircraft will be required. The F-16s could remain in service until 2015.
Source: Flight International
