Lockheed Martin and Dassault are to submit revised proposals for a smaller attrition sale of F-16C/D or Mirage 2000-5 fighters to the Greek Government, following its announced long term intention to join the Eurofighter consortium and order the EF2000 Typhoon.
Greece made a verbal commitment to ordering the Typhoon on 12 February, at the same time as postponing a decision on an interim purchase of new fighters due to a shortfall in funding. Athens is now expected make a final decision on the latter within the next two months.
Talks to harden up the commitment to Eurofighter are due to get under way over the next few months. Part of the negotiations are expected to seek to bring Greek industry, primarily state-owned Hellenic Aerospace Industry, into the Eurofighter fold for future developments of the fighter. A similar offer has been made to Norway in an effort to secure an export order for the Typhoon.
The Greek air force requires between 30 and 40 attrition replacements to top up its original purchases of 80 Block 30/50 F-16C/Ds and 40 Mirage 2000BG/Es. The air force also has a long-term need for a similar number of fighters to replace its McDonnell Douglas F-4Es.
Lockheed Martin had been offering its improved Block 50-plus version of the F-16 and Dassault the Mirage 2000-5 to meet both requirements, while Boeing was pitching the two-seat F-15E. Greece now appears to have split its planned buy after defence minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos revealed that only about one-third of the required DM1,200 billion ($4.2 billion) funding was budgeted.
"We're now having to tweak the proposal and adjust the package within the constraints of a tighter budget," says an industry source. Dassault and Lockheed Martin remain confident that Greece will order additional F-16s or Mirage 2000-5s, irrespective of its long-term intent to order the Typhoon, which will not be delivered until 2005 at the earliest.
"This is nothing we're taken by surprise with,' claims the US manufacturer. "We anticipated postponement of a decision on the immediate competition and a verbal commitment for Eurofighter. We and believe that what Greece is looking for within its budget only the F-16 can meet."
Source: Flight International
