Gripen Pulls Out of Canada Fighter Competition

摘要

In a surprise reversal, Saab has decided to pull out of Canada's fledging fighter competition, although it may re-join later if conditions change, the company said on 3 June. Saab is the first of the five competitors to pull out, but other competitors also have expressed doubts that the competition will be fair and open. In a 3 June e-mailed statement, Saab added that "as the customer continues to mature their process and further define the way forward, Saab will re-evaluate this decision, based on our assessment the Government of Canada's requirements, to see if and how Saab can take part in the continuing process as well as the applicability of any potential Saab solution." Canada is competing to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of CF-18 HORNET fighters, in which Boeing (F-18E), Dassault Aviation (RAFALE), and Eurofighter (TYPHOON) are competing against the Lockheed Martin F-35, which the Canadian government was publicly committed to buy until its skyrocketing price, technical problems and a particularly slanted procurement process forced it to "re-set" the project in December.