Fighter manufacturers trying to break into the Eastern European market are wrestling to balance local demands for hefty industrial offsets with limited funding for new aircraft. The number of competitors is set to widen with Boeing having been cleared to offer the F/A-18E/F for international sale.
The situation is best illustrated by Poland's demand for a 100% industrial offset against the proposed upgrade and lease of either 16 US Air Force owned F-16s or Swedish air force Gripens. Dassault has offered the Mirage 2000. Technical bids have already been submitted and a revised schedule calls for the competitors to submit commercial tenders by September.
Local law stipulates 100% direct and indirect offsets based on the total contract value. Competitive pressure could drive this higher, with concession levels in the Czech Republic reaching 150% based on their requirement for 36 fighters.
The Polish deal is worth an estimated $200 million, of which less than half is accounted for by a Lockheed Martin Falcon-up structural revamp and the upgrade of Pratt & Whitney F100-220E engines. The remainder consists of lease payments over a five-year period to the US Government. European competitors have placed contracts with Polish companies: BAE for Avro regional jets and Hawk trainers and Dassault for Mirage 2000 components.
For Lockheed Martin and BAE/Saab, the real value is in the prospective follow-on sale of 44 new fighters. Poland may order new F-16s or Gripens, and has asked for the F-16 letter of offer and acceptance from the US Government to include provision for participation in the Joint Strike Fighter programme.
Competition for new fighter orders will heat up after the release of the F/A-18E/F for export. This includes the new Raytheon APG-79 electronically scanned array radar available from 2007. A release application is being processed for the Super Hornet's new Raytheon ATFLIR targeting pod.
Boeing wants to brief up to 40 prospective foreign buyers, the best near-term prospects being existing operators of the F/A-18 Hornet.
Source: Flight International
