The “tricky exercise” of the Romanian F-16 / JSF choice

The “tricky exercise” of the Romanian F-16 / JSF choice

Recently released Wiki-cables show the reality behind the screens of the Romanian fighter jet competition. About the winning “sole-source” offer of Lockheed Martin and what the US ambassador called “a tricky exercise” in Romania, one of the least transparent countries of the European Union.

Romanian National Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea presented the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), led by the country’s president, Traian Basescu, held on 23-March-2010, a statement on the replacement of the MiG-21 LanceR aircraft which currently equip the Romanian Air Force.

Mr. Gabriel Oprea told that the implementation of the Multirole Aircraft Program is part of a strategic partnership between Romania and the United States of America with the ultimate goal of acquiring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Air Force’s long term strategy consists of the following steps:

• First step is the acquisition of 24 used F-16 Block 25 aircraft

• Intermediate step the acquisition of 24 new-build F-16 Block 52 aircraft

• Final step around 2025-2028 introduction of 24 F-35 JSF aircraft (to replace the first batch of F-16s)

The US offered the 24 F-16 aircraft for approximately US$ 1.3 billion with personnel training tol be carried out in the United States to U.S. Air Force standards, to achieve the required operational level and the full implementation of this system’s capabilities.

The first aircraft has to arrive in Romania in 2013.

European fighter suppliers surprised

Romania, member of the European Union, got a lot of financial support of the European Union. Therefore several European countries were wondering why Romania didn’t purchase a European product; participating in European industrial projects to support their own aviation industry.

On 11-May-2010 the European fighter suppliers Eurofighter Consortium and Saab presented their prospective bids in Bucharest at the behest of the Romanian parliament.

Eurofighter offered 24 aircraft from the Italian Air Force’s Typhoon inventory. Twenty-four second-hand Typhoons for € 1.0 billion is a competitive price, given that Austria paid € 1.75 billion for 15 nearly new ex-German Typhoons; in each case matching the price of second hand F-16 Block 25s with about 4500 hours clocked.

The offer of the Swedish company Saab to Romania was the delivery of 24 new JAS 39C/Ds for € 1 billion (US$ 1.32 billion), also matching the price of the second-hand F-16s but with a 100 percent guaranteed industrial offset package, supporting the crisis-hit Romanian industry.

US involvement in this “tricky exercise”

Last week a Wiki-cable of the US Embassy was made public about the impending final offer by the U.S. Army Foreign Claims Service, Europe to the family of the late Romanian rock star Teofil Peter, who was killed in a 2004 car accident involving a former US Embassy Marine Detachment Commander. Ambassador Nicholas F. Taubman wrote in the cable about his concerns the case of the Teofil Peter accident would fire anti-American tendencies in Romania and that “a controversy over U.S. handling of the case will put our closest friends within the Romanian government, including President Basescu, into a very awkward political position.”

In relation to the fighter jet procurement one paragraph of the wiki-cable shows more about the real background and cause of the Romanian refusal of the attractive European fighter jet offers:

«There are other, less predictable, risk factors at play…[…] a controversy over the Teo Peter award could enable our critics and opponents on the Romanian political scene to undermine other important initiatives which are just gathering momentum. First and foremost among them is our accelerating effort, alongside Lockheed-Martin, to persuade Romania to pursue an F-16/JSF option to replace the country;s aging MiG fleet. Lockheed-Martin, in tandem with allies in the Presidency and Ministry of Defense, are seeking a “sole-source” route to the fighter plane decision, which they do not want to see tied up in the Brussels bureaucracy by the F-16/JSF’s principal European competitors, Grippen and Eurofighter. This was always going to be a tricky exercise, with an expectation that supporters of a European fighter option would loudly cry foul. A firestorm over the Teo Peter case could possibly represent a tipping point away from a U.S. option, if only because of the optics.»

The “sole-source” Lockheed-Martin option

A “sole-source” option. Without real level playing field competition. Speaking about democracy, but in fact undermining it. Where did we hear this before? Canada? Australia? Norway? Holland?

And what is meant with “alongside Lockheed-Martin […] in tandem with allies in the Presidency and Ministry of Defense […] this was always going to be a tricky exercise”?

In the transparency index of 30 Western European/European Union countries Romania holds the 3rd ranking, with only Bulgaria and Greece having a higher “corruption” score. It must not be too difficult to get the highest ranking. And else, may be some US companies or “allied” government organisations are prepared to assist in that “tricky exercise”. In the case of the Romanian Government’s proposal to acquire F-16s the Romanian Parliament didn’t take a final decision yet.

Johan Boeder

(N.B. Johan Boeder est éditeur du site hollandais http://www.jsfnieuws.nl/.)