President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this week will sign a contract for the purchase of used Mirage jet fighters from France to replace aging planes on its fleet, the Air Force's press office said Tuesday.
The contract for the purchase of 12 Mirage 2000-C jet fighters is worth an estimated US$73.2 million (euro60.8 million) and will be signed during Silva's three-day official visit to France that begins on Wednesday, the press office said, without providing further details.
The Mirages 2000-C, still in use by the French air force, will replace 20 Mirage IIIEBr which have been used by Brazil for more than 30 years.
At the beginning of the year, Brazil canceled its plans to spend U$700 million (euro581 million) on jet fighters to upgrade its Air Force.
The bidding process for the purchase of 12 new jet fighters was canceled because technological advancements would have rendered the aircraft being considered obsolete, the Air Force said in a statement issued at the time.
Kicked off in 2001, the bidding process included British-Swedish consortium of BAE Systems and Saab; the French-Brazilian consortium of Dassault Aviation and Embraer; Lockheed Martin Corp. of the United States; and the Russian-Brazilian consortium of Rosoboronexport Sukhoi and Avibras Aeroespacial.
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Brazil to Purchase Used War Planes
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