European giants pressure Parliament to change Supreme Defence Council's decision to acquire F16 fighters
The protest of European military aircraft giants against the
decision of Romania's Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) to acquire
American F16 aircraft is growing more intense, with the Eurofighter
consortium joining Swedish group SAAB at the end of last week,
expressing "disappointment" with this decision.
At stake are not only the 1.3 billion dollars (almost 1 billion
euros) that the Romanian Government will set aside to acquire 24
second-hand American fighter planes, to replace ageing Russian MIG
21. Another contract for the purchase of a further 24 new aircraft,
will be signed in the future, which could be worth in excess of one
billion euros, considering that a fighter aircraft costs between 50
and 80 million euros on the market.
The European military companies are now putting pressure on the
Romanian Parliament, considering that it has to approve the "in
principle" decision of the Supreme Defence Council. In the Supreme
Defence Council decisions are consensual, but the president of the
country has the last say.
The Eurofighter consortium "regrets that this decision was made
without an international call for tenders, as is standard procedure
in European Union countries."