Norway Picks JSF
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3830999&c=AME&s=AIR
HELSINKI - Norway's decision to reveal the choice of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as its multi-role fighter on Nov. 20, a month ahead of the planned Dec. 19 announcement, took Saab and the Swedish government by surprise.
"We are naturally very disappointed as this marks a setback for Nordic cooperation, something we in Sweden firmly believe in," Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a Nov. 20 statement.
Saab, whose shares dropped 12 percent to $7.30 per share on the announcement, also manifested surprise over Norwegian Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen's statement that the JSF was "the only candidate" that fulfilled all the operational requirements specified, and that the Lockheed Martin aircraft was offered to Norway at a "lower price than the Gripen NG."
"I am disappointed and surprised about the Norwegian Governments decision, because Gripen fulfills all the operational requirements, to a fixed and known price. In addition to this, we have offered a wide and strong industrial cooperation package," said Saab CEO Åke Svensson in a statement.
Svensson said the Gripen remains a "very competitive combat aircraft on the international market," adding that Saab will continue to focus on other countries where procurement processes are ongoing and the Gripen is "an alternative."
The government's selection of the JSF is based on a recommendation from the Project Future Combat Aircraft Capability Committee (PFCACC), the expert group formed by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in 2005, and whose work has been supervised by external auditors.
"The Joint Strike Fighter was considered to be the better of the two candidates regarding intelligence and surveillance, counter air, air interdict and anti-surface warfare," said Strøm-Erichsen at a Nov. 20 press conference in Oslo.
According to the minister, the government decided to announce the fighter choice a month early because the PFCACC completed its report sooner than anticipated, its desire to see the "next stage of the process" begin as early as possible, and other factors.
Strøm-Erichsen rejected the notion that Norway's decision would hurt defense and industrial cooperation with Sweden or other Nordic nations.
"We do not expect problems. We have made the best choice, and I believe that Nordic defense and security cooperation can proceed independently of this procurement, and this decision," she said.
The minister declined to reveal what "flyaway" price was agreed between Lockheed and Norway for the JSF, or comment on how much cheaper that was than the Gripen NG.
Estimates vary, said one source at Norway's MoD.
"The basic unit price for the JSF was considered to be lower than the basic price for the Gripen. Norway will pay about $2.5 billion for 48 aircraft or $52 million per unit. This is the no frills price," the source said.
Sweden had thought it had offered the most competitive unit price and industrial package to Norway, said Sten Tolgfors, Sweden's defense minister.
"A deal would have been good for Nordic cooperation, but that isn't to be now. Norway has made its decision, and we must respect that," said Tolgfors.
The MoD source said the choice mirrors the continuing importance of the historic alliance between the U.S. and Norway, a longtime NATO member loyal to Washington.
The political debate surrounding the government's decision is unlikely to end with the announcement, said one analyst.
"My opinion is that the Joint Strike Fighter will be too expensive to produce, and that the aircraft is developed for the challenges of the 1980s in Europe. I doubt that the U.S. Congress will ever approve the project. In addition, the current financial situation could make the production of this expensive aircraft impossible," said Jon Bingen, defense analyst with the Norwegian Institute of Strategic Studies in Oslo.
