Zukünftige Exportmärkte für Kampfflugzeuge

[Jacks]

@Rob
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Thailand picks Swedish fighters over Russia's
Fri Oct 8, 2004 09:05 AM ET

BANGKOK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Thailand has picked a Swedish/ British consortium over a Russian firm to replace its ageing fleet of 16 American-made F-5 fighters, a deal that could be worth $230 million, the Thai air force chief said on Friday.
A Swedish government delegation would come to Thailand this month to discuss details of a barter trade deal that could swap Swedish fighters for Thai agriculture products, Air Chief Marshall Kongsak Wantana told reporters.

"We have decided to pick JAS 39 Gripen fighters to replace our F-5 fleet," Kongsak said.

"The Swedish government will send a delegation in the next one or two weeks to talk with our Commerce Ministry officials to seek a conclusion to the deal," he said.

In September, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told Swedish counterpart Goran Persson Thailand would buy Swedish fighter jets only if Sweden agreed to buy agricultural products in exchange.

Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) is eager to secure a contract to sell about 20 JAS 39 Gripen fighters, made with Britain's BAE (BA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Systems, to the Thai air force and Thaksin said he was ready to buy "whenever the Swedish company can deliver".

But Persson said at a joint news conference with Thaksin in Stockholm he could provide the right political conditions for such a deal only by improving bilateral economic relations through a new working group on trade.

Kongsak said the jets would be sold at a "friendly" price on a government-to-government contract and would cost about 600 million baht ($14 million) each, putting the bill at 9.6 billion baht ($230 million). Kongsak said the air force decided against Russia's Sukhoi Su-30 because Thailand had never used Russian warplanes. Russia's Vedomosti business daily said in August Thailand wanted to buy at least six Sukhoi Su-30s worth $200 million.

It quoted a source close to Russia's arms trade authority as saying Thailand, which has equipped its air force with U.S. fighters, had sent a defence delegation to Russia to Irkut (IRKT.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research) , which has a licence to produce the Su-30.

Su-30s, together with MiGs, form the backbone of Russia's arms trade and go mainly to Southeast Asia, where Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia have long been buyers. ($1=41.41 baht)