Andrew Doyle/LONDON
Sweden has offered to loan Poland 18 Saab/British Aerospace Gripens for five years from 2001 if the country selects the type for its fighter requirement.
The proposals, approved by the Swedish air force, were included in the Saab/BAe response to Poland's request for information (RFI)issued earlier this year. Five replies to the RFI were received in July after the 30 June deadline was pushed back two weeks, at the request of the US Government, to allow Boeing and Lockheed Martin to complete submissions.
The other respondents were Eurofighter and France's Dassault. A formal request for proposals is to be issued before the end of the year.
Poland, which recently joined NATO, wants to buy 60 fighters between 2006 and 2012, but needs used aircraft from 2001 to help prepare for their introduction.
Saab/BAe had been expected to push an interim lease of used Swedish air force Saab Viggens, but the availability of a squadron of Gripens will strengthen its bid. The 18 aircraft - including a pair of two-seaters - will have to be modified with NATO-compatible communications and identification friend-or-foe systems. Around 8,000 flight hours-worth of training would be provided to Polish pilots in Sweden.
Boeing plans to offer theF/A-18E/Fwith an interim lease of US Navy F/A-18A/Bs. Lockheed Martin is bidding with the F-16C/D, coupled with a loan of surplus US Air Force F-16A/Bs. Both US manufacturers' lease proposals are based on seven aircraft.
Dassault is offering Mirage 2000-5s, but declines to comment on its lease proposals. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace is heading the Eurofighter bid and is offering to upgrade Poland's MiG-29s.
Agusta, Bell, Boeing and Eurocopter responded to a separate RFI covering the supply of new attack and upgraded W-3 Sokol battlefield support helicopters. The Denel Rooivalk is effectively out after Poland's decision not to send the RFI to the South African manufacturer.
Meanwhile, BAe has awarded Polish manufacturer PZL a contract to build wing parts for the Avro RJ regional jet and has selected Mielec to make tooling which is used in producing Airbus wing assemblies.
Source: Flight International
