In the run-up to the German Government's 1998 decision over the national budget on 11 July, cabinet ministers in Bonn appear ready to give the go-ahead for procurement of the Eurofighter EF2000.
Sources in Bonn confirm press-agency reports that the Government is prepared to give the programme the all-clear, but say that funding talks with industrial partner Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) still have to be settled.
Dasa is to back up Government money for the production phase of the four-nation Eurofighter project, with an early repayment of funds used to support Airbus programmes, which were originally to have been repaid to the Government after the turn of the century.
Disagreement remains, however, over the amount of money the finance ministry wants Dasa to pay. While the manufacturer has indicated that it is ready to pay something of the order of DM1 billion ($591.7million), Bonn sources suggest that the finance ministry may be pushing for twice that.
Source: Flight International
