The Brazilian government will not review multibillion-dollar bids for a fighter jet deal until the start of 2012, Defence Minister Nelson Jobim told Reuters on Saturday. "We will go to examine it into the beginning of next year. At the moment, we are only focused on the domestic agenda," Jobim said on the sidelines of a business forum in southern France.
Brazil, which wants to rebuild and expand its dilapidated fleet of air force jets, has been considering offers from France's Dassault Aviation, Boeing and Sweden's Saab. The Brazilian contract will likely be worth much more than the initial bids, which have been reported by Brazilian media at about $4 billion to $6 billion. Maintenance contracts will be lucrative, and Brazil could eventually buy more than 100 aircraft.
Aside from the price and tactical considerations of Dassault's Rafale, Boeing's F-18 and Saab's Griffon, Brazil needs a technology transfer to help create jobs by manufacturing modern fighters at home and potentially exporting them to neighbours in Latin America.