Gov't issues tender for fighter planes
Off to the hanger: new fighter aircraft will mean retirement for the MiG 29.
The government has issued its largest tender ever, for the supply of 60 fighter aircraft for the air force, Defense Minister Bronislaw Komorowski said last week.
Three companies, the U.S.' Lockheed-Martin, Anglo-Swedish BAE Systems, and France's Dessault, are expected to submit bids by the end of May for the contract, which is estimated to be worth about $3 billion.
Komorowski called for a special commission last week to evaluate offers and to choose between the U.S.' F-16, France's Mirage and the Anglo-Swedish Gripen aircraft. Witold Kalinowski, a spokesman for the air force, refused to comment on which of the three bidders could offer the best fighter planes.
But analysts said the likely winner of the tender would be Lockheed-Martin's F-16 as the tender issue coincides with a scheduled meeting of the U.S. Congress, which is responsible for approving the deal. The Defense Ministry is due to select a winner by July.
Poland has to upgrade its air force by 2003 as part of its commitment to NATO. Although the country joined the alliance in 1998, its air force still comprises 235 Soviet-era MiG and SU fighter planes.
All the bidders say they will be able to meet the government's offset terms, requiring the winner to place orders and investments of equal value with Polish defense manufacturers.
Although the contract is said to be worth $3 billion, Komorowski refused to give an exact price for the 60 fighters. He said it is up to the bidders to include specific conditions concerning the deal's financing arrangements.
The minister also said that Poland will finance the purchase of the fighter planes from the budget up to 2015, spending about 0.5% of the annual gross domestic product. The Defense Ministry wants to ensure stable financing for the project during the next 15 years and expects the Sejm will pass special legislation on air-force financing before the parliamentary elections, due this autumn.
