Article Posted on : - Feb 21, 2011

Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet

WASHINGTON (AFP): Brazil would receive a "significant technology transfer" if it buys US-made fighter jets, a US Defence Department official said, seeking to ease concerns before Brazil selects a winning bidder.

The transfer of military technology is a key factor for Brazil as it considers Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet, the Rafale by France's Dassault, and the Gripen NG made by Saab of Sweden, for a contract worth between USD 4 billion and USD 7 billion.

"I would argue that the technology transfer that we are offering of this magnitude would put Brazil at par with our close partners," Frank Mora, deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, told a legislative committee Friday.

When asked if it were accurate that Brazil should not have doubts about the commitment to the technology transfer, he replied: "That is correct."

"The United States has made a robust proposal of the Super Hornet technology -- a significant technology transfer," he said.

The contract is for 36 fighters with the possibility of many more aircraft in the future.

The competition for the contract has dragged on for years, with President Dilma Rousseff inheriting it from her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had declared a preference for French planes.

Arturo Valenzuela, assistant US secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said during the hearing yesterday that "we always raise this issue" in talks between Brazil and the United States.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Brazil in late March as part of a tour that includes stops in Chile and El Salvador.

Brazil and the United States last April signed a military cooperation agreement.