* Swiss to buy 22 JAS-39 Gripen
* Gripen the cheapest option among bidders
* Critics slammed Gripen for poor performance in tests
* Greens want deal put to referendum (Adds details, reaction)
ZURICH, (Reuters) - Switzerland has chosen to replace its fighter jet fleet with 22 of Swedish defence and aerospace group Saab's JAS-39 Gripen, Defence Minister Ueli Maurer said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to French rivals.
Neutral Switzerland has wrangled for the past three years over how to replace its ageing Northrop F-5E/F Tiger fighters, purchased in 1976 and 1981, with up to 33 new aircraft.
"With the Gripen the cabinet has opted for a fighter jet that fulfils military requirements, but at the same time can be tolerated financially over the medium and long-term by the defence ministry and the army," the government said in a statement.
Saab shares were up 9.3 percent to 118.70 Swedish crowns by 1548 GMT.
The hotly contested Swiss deal was seen as laying down a marker in the European aerospace sector.
Other bidders included the Rafale built by France's Dassault Aviation and EADS's Anglo-German-Italian Eurofighter Typhoon.
The 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.41 billion) price tag for the 22 Gripen was considerably less than rival bids, Maurer told a news conference in Berne.
The purchase of new jets is politically contentious in Switzerland and has been plagued by delays and a funding squeeze.
Last year the cabinet said it would push back the purchase of new fighters until 2015, giving ministers time to come up with a financing plan.
In September the Swiss lower house of parliament increased the defence budget to 5 billion francs from 2014 to finance a 100,000-strong army and the purchase of new fighter jets.
The Swiss decision faces opposition from some parliamentarians and within the military. Swiss media reported the Gripen fared worse in evaluation tests than the Rafale and the Eurofighter.
The Green Party, which has long opposed replacing the fighter jets, said on Wednesday it would fight the decision in parliament and call a referendum on the issue.
Dassault has yet to find a foreign buyer for its multi-role Rafale, billed as one of the most effective fighters in the world but also one of the most expensive.
Saab has already sold its jets to Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa. ($1 = 0.9102 Swiss francs)
GENEVA — The Swiss government said on Wednesday it will purchase 22 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to replace its ageing F5 fighter fleet in an estimated 3.1 billion Swiss franc (2.5 billion euro) deal.
"The Federal Council has decided to acquire 22 Saab Gripen fighter planes to replace the obsolete F5 Tiger," a statement said.
The planes were selected over the French Dassault Rafale and the EADS Eurofighter, also being considered for the multi-billion Swiss franc contract.
The candidates had been subjected to a robust evaluation lasting several years, the government said, and by opting for the Gripen had chosen a jet which "fulfils military demands" while being financially sustainable.
The planned purchase will be put to parliament as part of the government's 2012 arms programme.
During its last session the Swiss parliament charged the government with launching the acquisition process for new planes by the end of the year.
"This decision allows us to acquire a high performance plane without compromising other military branches or their essential equipment," said the government.
During a press conference in Bern, Swiss Defence Minister Ueli Maurer described the model as "technically excellent" while estimating the cost of the deal at up to 3.1 billion Swiss francs -- said to be the cheapest of the three options.
Saab shares rose in Stockholm after the announcement, gaining 9.6 percent to 119 kronor (13 euros/17.6 dollars).
The choice came as a relative surprise in Switzerland after media reported several days ago that the Swedish plane had not fully passed technical tests. A Paris-based analyst specialising in the air defence industry said the Rafale option was considerably more expensive and had little chance of winning the contract however.
Saab admitted it made "huge concessions over the price to ensure it got the contract", the analyst said, while adding that the deal could still be put to a referendum if there was sufficient opposition.
Saab said Wednesday it was "proud and delighted" over Switzerland's decision.
"Given that Switzerland is known globally for applying (the) highest procurement standards and requesting state-of-the art technologies, Saab is both proud and delighted that Gripen has been chosen as the Swiss Air Force's future multirole fighter aircraft," Saab said in a statement.
The Swiss selection "confirms that Saab is a market-leader in the defence and security industry and that Gripen is a world-class fighter system that provides the best value for money", Saab CEO and president Haakan Buskhe said.
Courtesy (AFP)
Russia’s radar station in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad will monitor missile launches from the North Atlantic, as well as the future European missile defense system, the Aerospace Defense Forces chief said on Friday.
“We will be able to control the entire European continent and the Atlantic, including the European missile defense system,” Lt. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko said.
The radar station is ready to go into operation as part of the national missile early warning attack system, he said.
In addition, Iskander tactical missiles will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region “in the near future,” the general said.
Russia’s air defense system will have the capability to intercept any type of missiles, any targets at any speed, including hypersonic ones, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday.
The new system, comprising air defense, missile defense, missile early warning attack and space control systems, should be up and running by December 1.
Ostapenko’s remarks come after President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that Russia would move "advanced offensive weapon systems" to its European borders in response to a planned U.S.-backed NATO missile shield if talks on the project fail.
Moscow is seeking written, legally binding guarantees that the shield will not be directed against it. Washington, however, has refused to put its verbal assurances in writing.
Washington responded by saying it would not alter its plans for a European missile defense project, despite increasingly tough rhetoric from Moscow.
Russia may deploy "advanced offensive weapon systems" on its borders with Europe in response to a planned U.S.-backed European missile shield, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.
Medvedev's comment came as he outlined a series of possible “appropriate measures” if missile defense talks between Moscow and Washington result in failure. Moscow is seeking written, legal guarantees that the shield will not be directed against it, but Washington has refused to put its verbal assurances in writing.
In a live broadcast on national television, Medvedev said the U.S. and NATO had failed to "take our concerns about the European missile defense into account."
If there was no progress on the issue, he went on, Russia would “deploy in the west and the south of the country advanced offensive weapon systems which will target the European component of the missile defense network.”
Medvedev was speaking ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on December 7-8.
Other military measures outlined by Medvedev included the placement of an early-warning radar in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the increased protection of nuclear deterrent assets around the country.
The U.S and NATO plan to place elements of the European missile shield in Poland and Romania. The Alliance has dismissed Russia’s concerns over the shield, saying it needs it to deal with “rogue states” such as Iran.
Russia and NATO tentatively agreed to cooperate on the European missile defense network at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, but differences in approaches toward the project led to a deadlock in negotiations.
Medvedev reiterated on Wednesday Russia’s proposal to create a joint missile defense system. He also said, however, that Russia would not participate in a project that went against its interests.
"We will not agree to take part in a project that may weaken our deterrent potential in a relatively short time - five or six or eight years. And the European missile defense is exactly this kind of project," said Medvedev, who steps down next spring to allow his mentor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to return to the Kremlin.
Russia made similar threats when the George Bush-era missile shield was announced and there was immediate speculation in at home and abroad that Medvedev's tough statements were made to satisfy rising nationalist sentiments ahead of the December 4 parliamentary polls.
ARMS CONTROL AT RISK
Medvedev also said that if talks on the European missile shield develop in a manner unfavorable to Russia, Moscow may halt its disarmament and arms control efforts, including participation in the new strategic arms reduction treaty with the United States.
“Given the direct link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons, reasons could emerge for Russia's withdrawal from the START treaty. This is stipulated by the treaty itself,” he said.
The missile shield dispute between Russia and the United States has undermined efforts to build on improvements in relations between the former Cold War foes and is intensified by Russia's uncertainty over U.S. policy after the November 2012 presidential elections.
At the same time, Medvedev expressed hope that there was still a chance of reaching an agreement with the United States and NATO on missile defense.
“If our partners approach the task of heeding our legitimate security interests in an honest and responsible way, I am sure we will manage to come to terms,” the president said.
He added, though, that Russia would closely monitor the situation and react accordingly to each new phase in the implementation of the European missile shield project.
All decks have been cleared for two crucial defence deals, together worth over Rs 5,000 crore, to acquire 75 Swiss turbo-prop aircraft to train rookie pilots as well as around 450 advanced French missiles to arm upgraded Mirage-2000 multi-role fighters.
Defence ministry sources say the two deals have now been "sent" to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the "final nod" after "clarifying all objections" of finance ministry. "The contracts will be inked after the CCS clears within a week or so," said a source.
This comes at a time when MoD and IAF are busy calculating the "lowest bidder" between French Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon for the mega medium multi-role combat aircraft
project to acquire 126 fighters at a cost likely to touch $20 billion. But while these fighter deliveries will begin from 2015 , IAF wants to induct trainers earlier to train new pilots. The hurry to acquire 75 Swiss Pilatus PC-7 basic trainers is critical since IAF's 114 piston-engined HPT-32 jets have been grounded since August 2009 due to repeated engine failures.
"We want to begin our first course on the Pilatus trainers from July 2013," said a senior officer. IAF, of course, is already inducting 123 British Hawk AJTs (advanced jet trainers), at a cost of around Rs 16,000 crore, but they are meant for "advanced'' combat training. The contract for the around 450 fire-and-forget, all-weather MICA (interception and aerial combat missiles) systems with French company MBDA, too, has been in the pipeline for quite some time.
It flows from the Rs 10,947 crore programme finalized in July for an upgrade of 51
Mirage-2000s with the help of French companies Dassault Aviation (aircraft manufacturer)
and Thales (weapons systems integrator).
While the first two fighters are being sent to France next month for the upgrade, the remaining 49 will later be "souped up" with new avionics, radars, mission computers, glass cockpits, helmet-mounted displays, electronic warfare suites, weapon delivery and precision-targeting systems by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in India. The overall upgrade project cost will go beyond Rs 15,000 crore over the decade it will take to be completed. Down to just 33-34 fighter squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets) from a 'sanctioned strength' of 39.5
The 63 MiG-29s are to be upgraded under a $964 million deal inked with Russia in March
2008. Then, apart from the 126 MMRCA, IAF is also inducting 272 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted
from Russia for around $12 billion. Moreover, the first lot of the around 120 indigenous
Tejas Light Combat Aircraft will join IAF from end-2013 onwards. On top of this all, India plans to induct 250-300 stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft co-developed with Russia from 2020 onwards, in what will be its biggest-ever defence project at around $35 billion.
