Sweden has sweetened its bid to sell 36 fighter jets to Brazil by saying that 40 per cent of the aircraft would be built in Brazil.
The offer has been made as Sweden competes with France and the US for a contract that could be worth between $4 billion and $7 billion (Ôé¼2.7 billion and Ôé¼4.7 billion).
Swedish aerospace and defence firm Saab has also confirmed that as well as paying a competitive priceÔÇörumoured to be half that of the French or US offersÔÇöBrazil would have full access to the technology used in building the supersonic Gripen aircraft.
French firm Dassault had been seen as the front-runner in the competition with its state-of-the-art Rafale jet and guarantee to share its technology with Brazil. Now that Sweden has matched the offer, DassaultÔÇÖs position may have weakened slightly.
StockholmÔÇÖs deputy defence minister also said that Brazil would be able to upgrade the Swedish planes as and when required over their 40-year expected lifespan.
Saab has not yet confirmed the exact price it would charge for the contract; and Brazil has not said how much it would be prepared to spend.
The US firm Boeing is also competing, with its F-18 Super Hornet jet.
Brazil is seeking to modernise its air force in line with its ambitions to become Latin AmericaÔÇÖs number one military power. It has set a deadline of Monday 21 September for final proposals.
Headquartered in Järfälla, Sweden, Saab, whose main aircraft focus is fighter jets, has a workforce of 14,000.
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