Guitro01
Forista Sancionado o Expulsado
Parece ser que el nuevo gobierno austriaco podria cancelar el pedido de 18 eurofighter:
New Austrian Government May Cancel Eurofighter Deal
(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Oct. 6, 2006) (Edited for accuracy) defense-aerospace.com
Austria's newly elected center-left government may drop the purchase of 18 Eurofighters, a full-scale replica of which attracted widespread attention during the 2005 Zeltweg air show. (Eurofighter GmbH photo)Austria's newly-elected center-left government has threatened to make good on one of its election promises and scrap the purchase of 18 Eurofighters.
Before last Sunday's general election, the Social Democrats pledged to ditch the two billion euro ($2.5 billion) order put in place by the ruling conservative government of the time. Now preparing for government, the Social Democrats look set to deal EADS another blow by tabling a motion in favor of binning the contract as soon as the new parliament convenes.
It appears the new Social Democratic chancellor-elect, Alfred Gusenbauer, may signal the end of the deal as early as the end of October, when the new parliament meets for the first time.
"A committee of inquiry should clarify the political responsibility for the senseless procurement of this unbelievably expensive war machine," Josef Cap, the Social Democrats' floor leader, told Vienna's Der Standard newspaper. "We don't need the Eurofighter. It is not an ideological, but a financial issue. I've got nothing against these planes as such. But they cost an awful lot of money. I always believed that there were much better things to be done with that money."
With his country facing the possibility of a legal challenge and demands for compensation, Chancellor-elect Gusenbauer is taking no chances. "I want to see the contracts and they need to be examined by our best lawyers," he said last week.
[“The Eurofighter consortium is under contract by the Republic of Austria to deliver 18 aircraft beginning June 2007. The work of the Eurofighter consortium is on track,” a company spokesman told defense-aerospace.com.]
[EDITOR’S NOTE: There is, as yet, no new government in place in Austria. The final election results, which will include postal votes, are due to be published Oct. 9, and then coalition talks will eventually start. A new government could be in place as early as year-end or as late as Easter next year, and until a new government is sworn in the current government remains in place.]
The Eurofighter is built by three companies, BAE Systems in Britain, EADS in Germany and Spain and Alenia in Italy under a work sharing arrangement which reflects the number of aircraft being bought by the partner countries.
While Saudi Arabia continues to make positive noises about its order of 72 planes, none have yet been purchased, while South Korea and Singapore have both pulled out of talks after originally appearing keen, and bought the F-15.
Greece, which had an order for 60 aircraft, canceled it after a change of government due to financial constraints. Other countries tipped as possible buyers include India, Pakistan, Turkey, Norway and Denmark.
Countries debating orders may be put off by a possible Austrian cancellation. Export orders are seen as crucial because of their contribution to the overall profitability of the program.
Austria's participation in the project was controversial from the start as the small country was pushed into the deal by the outgoing conservative government of Wolfgang Schüssel despite being militarily neutral. The former government was going to spend up to 6 billion euros in total on Eurofighters over the next 20 years.
Partners prepare to fight Austria over deal
But reneging on the deal by Austria may not be as simple as just saying that it no longer wants the planes. The first four planes on order are already under construction in Germany, and it is unlikely that the companies involved in the Eurofighter's manufacture will let Austria off the hook so easily.
A spokesperson for BAE Systems said Thursday that the companies building the Eurofighter were "under contract with Austria. We are delivering against that contract. The first aircraft are in production."
In my opinion this is a bad idea since this will leave Austria without any replacement for its fighter aircraft, in my opinion Austria's defence budget needs to be increased, not decreased further, Austria has always had some form of fighter cover over it, and although it is a neutral country, it would still need to protect its airspace against intrusions and protect its sovereignty, hence the need for some sort of fighter aircraft force, and besides, Austria can more than afford these aircraft based on the size of its economy, just more bad decisions by the left apparently
New Austrian Government May Cancel Eurofighter Deal
(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Oct. 6, 2006) (Edited for accuracy) defense-aerospace.com
Austria's newly elected center-left government may drop the purchase of 18 Eurofighters, a full-scale replica of which attracted widespread attention during the 2005 Zeltweg air show. (Eurofighter GmbH photo)Austria's newly-elected center-left government has threatened to make good on one of its election promises and scrap the purchase of 18 Eurofighters.
Before last Sunday's general election, the Social Democrats pledged to ditch the two billion euro ($2.5 billion) order put in place by the ruling conservative government of the time. Now preparing for government, the Social Democrats look set to deal EADS another blow by tabling a motion in favor of binning the contract as soon as the new parliament convenes.
It appears the new Social Democratic chancellor-elect, Alfred Gusenbauer, may signal the end of the deal as early as the end of October, when the new parliament meets for the first time.
"A committee of inquiry should clarify the political responsibility for the senseless procurement of this unbelievably expensive war machine," Josef Cap, the Social Democrats' floor leader, told Vienna's Der Standard newspaper. "We don't need the Eurofighter. It is not an ideological, but a financial issue. I've got nothing against these planes as such. But they cost an awful lot of money. I always believed that there were much better things to be done with that money."
With his country facing the possibility of a legal challenge and demands for compensation, Chancellor-elect Gusenbauer is taking no chances. "I want to see the contracts and they need to be examined by our best lawyers," he said last week.
[“The Eurofighter consortium is under contract by the Republic of Austria to deliver 18 aircraft beginning June 2007. The work of the Eurofighter consortium is on track,” a company spokesman told defense-aerospace.com.]
[EDITOR’S NOTE: There is, as yet, no new government in place in Austria. The final election results, which will include postal votes, are due to be published Oct. 9, and then coalition talks will eventually start. A new government could be in place as early as year-end or as late as Easter next year, and until a new government is sworn in the current government remains in place.]
The Eurofighter is built by three companies, BAE Systems in Britain, EADS in Germany and Spain and Alenia in Italy under a work sharing arrangement which reflects the number of aircraft being bought by the partner countries.
While Saudi Arabia continues to make positive noises about its order of 72 planes, none have yet been purchased, while South Korea and Singapore have both pulled out of talks after originally appearing keen, and bought the F-15.
Greece, which had an order for 60 aircraft, canceled it after a change of government due to financial constraints. Other countries tipped as possible buyers include India, Pakistan, Turkey, Norway and Denmark.
Countries debating orders may be put off by a possible Austrian cancellation. Export orders are seen as crucial because of their contribution to the overall profitability of the program.
Austria's participation in the project was controversial from the start as the small country was pushed into the deal by the outgoing conservative government of Wolfgang Schüssel despite being militarily neutral. The former government was going to spend up to 6 billion euros in total on Eurofighters over the next 20 years.
Partners prepare to fight Austria over deal
But reneging on the deal by Austria may not be as simple as just saying that it no longer wants the planes. The first four planes on order are already under construction in Germany, and it is unlikely that the companies involved in the Eurofighter's manufacture will let Austria off the hook so easily.
A spokesperson for BAE Systems said Thursday that the companies building the Eurofighter were "under contract with Austria. We are delivering against that contract. The first aircraft are in production."
In my opinion this is a bad idea since this will leave Austria without any replacement for its fighter aircraft, in my opinion Austria's defence budget needs to be increased, not decreased further, Austria has always had some form of fighter cover over it, and although it is a neutral country, it would still need to protect its airspace against intrusions and protect its sovereignty, hence the need for some sort of fighter aircraft force, and besides, Austria can more than afford these aircraft based on the size of its economy, just more bad decisions by the left apparently
