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Hungary PM Sees Fighter Tender in Second Half 1999

November 29, 1998 (by Lieven Dewitte) - A tender to replace Hungary's outdated fighter aircraft fleet will probably be announced in the second half of 1999, Prime Minister Gyula Horn said on Tuesday. A consortium of British Aerospace and Sweden's SAAB, with its Grippen fighter, is one of four Western plane makers currently lobbying Hungary in anticipation of the tender for the purchase of some 30 new fighters worth a total of around $1 billion. The other prospective contenders are Lockheed-Martin with its F-16, France's Dassault with the Mirage 2000, and Boeing with the F/A-18 Hornet. An offset agreement - under which the prospective bidders invest in Hungarian industry or sign deals for Hungarian products equivalent to the cost of the planes - remained a basic condition. All prospective bidders have signed such an agreement with Hungary. U.S. engine maker General Electric, which supplies the Grippen, the F16and the F/A 18, has also signed an offset deal.

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