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Singapore Picks Boeing F-15 Fighter Over
Rafale
PARIS (Dow Jones)--The Singapore government has chosen Boeing Co's
(BA) F-15 fighter over the Rafale made by Dassault Aviation SA
(12172.FR), the French company said Tuesday.
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The news is further blow to the French manufacturer's hopes of
selling the Rafale to a foreign air force.
"At the end of a long selection and evaluation process in which the
elimination of the Eurofighter-Typhoon led to a face-off between
Dassault Aviation's Rafale and Boeing's F-15, the American vendor
prevailed in Singapore," Dassault said in a statement.
Dassault noted that Singapore has so far relied entirely on U.S.
suppliers for its air defense.
It said Singapore shied away from dual sourcing, and said a main
factor behind the decision appears to be the weakness of the
dollar.
But Dassault also indicated that the Singaporeans had been the
object of intense lobbying by the U.S.
"America's power and might once again bore out the old Chinese
proverb, 'bamboo always leans the way it's pushed the hardest,' the
company said.
According to industry analysts, the order could be up to $1
billion.
Boeing's victory is yet another blow to Dassault in its bid to
attract export orders for the Rafale, which up to now has only been
ordered by the French armed forces.
Aircraft equipment suppliers such as French defense electronics
company Thales SA (12132.FR) - which stood to win big orders for
radars and hi-tech combat systems for the Rafale - will also be
very disappointed by the news.
The Rafale also came out second-best to the F-15 in a dogfight over
an order for 40 fighter aircraft from South Korea.
Singapore needs to replace its aging A-4 Super Skyhawks and is
expected to make an initial order for eight to 12 aircraft, with
options for another eight to 12.
Neither Singapore nor Boeing have made any announcement on the
contract award.
The F-15 that Singapore has decided to order, according to
Dassault, will be similar to the aircraft sold to South Korea, but
they will have an active electronically scanned array radar made by
Raytheon Co.
In mid-afternoon trading at the Paris Bourse, Dassault shares were
down 0.7% at EUR551 while those of Thales were off 0.3% at
EUR36.58.
Source - Yahoo News
