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    <title>Recent Posts in 'Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters'' | sgForums.com</title>
    <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by Orcishwarrior @ Tue, 01 Jun 2004 19:32:53 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;To be Continue..... Topic : &lt;span style=
"text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Singapore's New Generation
Fighter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2004 19:32:53 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1840118</guid>
      <author>Orcishwarrior</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by cavsg @ Tue, 01 Jun 2004 11:38:19 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;CLARIFICATION OF ERRONEOUS MEDIA REPORTS ON SELECTION OF NEXT
GENERATION FIGHTER&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
We refer to the reports, &#8216;Eurofighters headed here&#8217; by STREATS
(page 8, 31 May 2004) and &#8216;UK will be selling 50 Eurofighters to
Austria and Singapore&#8217; by Zao Bao (page 19, 31 May 2004).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Both reports said that Singapore had agreed to buy an unspecified
number of the UK&#8217;s Eurofighter aircraft. The reports are erroneous.
The three shortlisted candidates for our Next Generation Fighter
Programme &#8211; the F-15T, Rafale and Eurofighter &#8211; are still
undergoing flight trials and technical evaluation. A decision is
not likely until next year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.mindef.gov.sg/display.asp?number=2109" rel=
"nofollow"&gt;http://www.mindef.gov.sg/display.asp?number=2109&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2004 11:38:19 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1839283</guid>
      <author>cavsg</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by |-|05| @ Mon, 31 May 2004 16:22:29 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by storywolf:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;Don't write off the french rafale, no
decent fighter pilot will forgot that, the six day war, how the
mirage III perform. The french are one of the leading producer of
military hardwares.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can be sure that Singapore will get a deal that cover the
integration with US and other system, and it will still be cheaper
then the EF-2000.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;not writting it off....i'm just pointing out that we should not
write off the EF-2000.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 16:22:29 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1837633</guid>
      <author>|-|05|</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by duotiga83 @ Mon, 31 May 2004 12:36:29 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Rafael is an Israeli company, Rafale is the actual name&#8230;..please
don&#8217;t get it wrong&#8230;.ok&#8230;back to topic&#8230;....today Streats also have
the news&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 12:36:29 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1837234</guid>
      <author>duotiga83</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by Orcishwarrior @ Mon, 31 May 2004 11:00:27 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;To be Continue..... Topic : &lt;span style=
"text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Singapore's New Generation
Fighter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 11:00:27 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1837056</guid>
      <author>Orcishwarrior</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by storywolf @ Mon, 31 May 2004 09:38:57 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by |-|05|:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;cost effective? maybe maybe not.....since i
think the EF-2000 more integrated with US system since the brits
are a major us ally&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Don't write off the french rafale, no decent fighter pilot will
forgot that, the six day war, how the mirage III perform. The
french are one of the leading producer of military hardwares.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can be sure that Singapore will get a deal that cover the
integration with US and other system, and it will still be cheaper
then the EF-2000.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 09:38:57 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836903</guid>
      <author>storywolf</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by storywolf @ Mon, 31 May 2004 09:33:27 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by Fairyland:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;Let's not forget the most obvious answer to
this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MOST COST EFFECTIVE ANSWER is to buy more F-16s maybe in the guise
of the F-16XL .......still a single engine configuration but then
so is the JSF!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If Mindef really go for Typhoon........then it must come with a
'deal' to give every Singaporean a British passport because that's
what we'll need!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even the Aussies are extending their F-18s as a fallback to the
JSF!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Of course they have the F-111s........&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Too bad the F16XL is not in the market, for it to be use by us
alone, it be more expensive than the rafale. Also the JSF is too
far away for delievery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 09:33:27 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836897</guid>
      <author>storywolf</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by Fairyland @ Mon, 31 May 2004 08:36:05 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Let's not forget the most obvious answer to this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MOST COST EFFECTIVE ANSWER is to buy more F-16s maybe in the guise
of the F-16XL .......still a single engine configuration but then
so is the JSF!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If Mindef really go for Typhoon........then it must come with a
'deal' to give every Singaporean a British passport because that's
what we'll need!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even the Aussies are extending their F-18s as a fallback to the
JSF!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Of course they have the F-111s........&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 08:36:05 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836829</guid>
      <author>Fairyland</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by |-|05| @ Mon, 31 May 2004 00:08:45 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by storywolf:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;Haha..... disprite all these so call news,
think the final RSAF will go for RAFAEL which seem like the most
cost effective of the 3 fighters.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;cost effective? maybe maybe not.....since i think the EF-2000
more integrated with US system since the brits are a major us
ally&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 May 2004 00:08:45 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836601</guid>
      <author>|-|05|</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by wd1 @ Sun, 30 May 2004 23:44:40 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;the claim that sg bought the eurofighters was made by the Sunday
Telegraph. IIRC this is a very sensational tabloid that goes after
things like Who Slept With David Beckham. half of what is says is
prob bullsh*t so take the news wif a very big pinch of salt.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
dont panic folks. i think we'll still get the rafale&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 23:44:40 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836558</guid>
      <author>wd1</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by Boxer @ Sun, 30 May 2004 22:45:22 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class=""&gt;SAF&lt;/span&gt; is more likely to buy a French fighter
&#8230; and when that happens, stock market players, it&#8217;s time to
accumulate some ST Engg shares &#8230;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 22:45:22 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836417</guid>
      <author>Boxer</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by warspite @ Sun, 30 May 2004 22:38:54 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Saw an article in Flight International that the Typhoons will be
here next month, with at least 2 coming...so don't rule 'em out too
soon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 22:38:54 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836389</guid>
      <author>warspite</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by storywolf @ Sun, 30 May 2004 21:36:50 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Haha&#8230;.. disprite all these so call news, think the final
&lt;span class=""&gt;RSAF&lt;/span&gt; will go for &lt;span class=""&gt;RAFAEL&lt;/span&gt;
which seem like the most cost effective of the 3 fighters.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 21:36:50 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1836214</guid>
      <author>storywolf</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by tripwire @ Sun, 30 May 2004 19:59:05 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by |-|05|:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;the EF-2000 wasnt suppose to turn up for
those trials...it's trial is sometime around now or july......not
confirm if they coming anot though.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;better dont... we are a tropical country... rain almost every
week.. now plus indonesian forest fire smoking us... the last thing
i want is a typhoon dropping on my head becuase its engine cant
take the water or the smoke &lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 19:59:05 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835996</guid>
      <author>tripwire</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by ferret69 @ Sun, 30 May 2004 18:41:37 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Not too sure about the Typhoons or Lancaster, but the most
exotic that I do know of is the&lt;br /&gt;
Me-262&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html" rel=
"nofollow"&gt;http://www.stormbirds.com/project/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bet you would want to have one of those in your backyard
&lt;img title="Wink" src="/images/emoticons/classic/icon_wink.gif"
alt="Wink" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by bcoy:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;Lancasters and the old Typhoons? Any flying
examples these days? I know the Spitfire still flies in the hands
of private owners.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 18:41:37 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835826</guid>
      <author>ferret69</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by bcoy @ Sun, 30 May 2004 17:31:22 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by ferret69:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;Will they throw into the deal some
refurbished Spitfires and WWII Typhoons, how about a Lancaster? I
need a few to spruce up my garage/hangar. Also to buzz the noisy
neighbours across the street.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Lancasters and the old Typhoons? Any flying examples these days?
I know the Spitfire still flies in the hands of private owners.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 17:31:22 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835692</guid>
      <author>bcoy</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by |-|05| @ Sun, 30 May 2004 15:41:05 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_from"&gt;Originally posted by tripwire:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div class="quote_body"&gt;looks like CNA jump the gun and
re-interpreted the news wrongly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
scare the hell out of me... to even think we would even consider
the typhoon when they didnt even bother to show up on AA2004 and
the subsequent trials in singapore vs RAFAEL and F-15.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt=
"Mr. Green" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
and with the F-15 being raped in india... things are looking up for
the rafael....&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;the EF-2000 wasnt suppose to turn up for those trials...it's
trial is sometime around now or july......not confirm if they
coming anot though.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 15:41:05 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835555</guid>
      <author>|-|05|</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by ferret69 @ Sun, 30 May 2004 15:05:34 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Will they throw into the deal some refurbished Spitfires and
&lt;span class=""&gt;WWII&lt;/span&gt; Typhoons, how about a Lancaster? I need
a few to spruce up my garage/hangar. Also to buzz the noisy
neighbours across the street.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 15:05:34 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835511</guid>
      <author>ferret69</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by cavsg @ Sun, 30 May 2004 11:15:00 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday it was examining
the rate at which it takes delivery of Eurofighter jets, after a
newspaper report said some orders could be diverted to countries
including Austria.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"Nothing is decided but we're looking at our delivery rates," a
ministry spokesman said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that the government was
considering a deal that would see Eurofighters delivered to the
Austrian air force before Britain. The paper also named Singapore,
Norway and South Korea among potential buyers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the spokesman said that the ministry was still committed
to taking the same total number of aircraft.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"Examining the delivery rate is not the same as reconsidering the
quantity of aircraft. We certainly still expect to procure the same
number of aircraft," he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Key manufacturers on the programme are Airbus parent EADS ,
Britain's BAE Systems and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Copyright 2004, Reuters News&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=
"http://www.forbes.com/business/manufacturing/newswire/2004/05/29/rtr1389239.html"
rel=
"nofollow"&gt;http://www.forbes.com/business/manufacturing/newswire/2004/05/29/rtr1389239.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 11:15:00 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1835060</guid>
      <author>cavsg</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by deathscythe99 @ Sun, 30 May 2004 09:46:57 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Well Well&#8230;.hope we dun go with the Typhoon sia&#8230;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 09:46:57 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1834829</guid>
      <author>deathscythe99</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by tripwire @ Sun, 30 May 2004 09:44:17 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;looks like CNA jump the gun and re-interpreted the news
wrongly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
scare the hell out of me... to even think we would even consider
the typhoon when they didnt even bother to show up on AA2004 and
the subsequent trials in singapore vs RAFAEL and F-15.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt="Mr. Green" /&gt;
&lt;img title="Mr. Green" src=
"/images/emoticons/classic/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt=
"Mr. Green" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
and with the F-15 being raped in india... things are looking up for
the rafael....&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 09:44:17 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1834822</guid>
      <author>tripwire</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by nWo @ Sun, 30 May 2004 09:10:26 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href=
"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/30/nmod30.xml&amp;amp;sSheet=/news/2004/05/30/ixhome.html"
rel="nofollow"&gt;Sunday Telegraph&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;MoD to sell off undelivered Eurofighters&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
By Sean Rayment Defence Correspondent&lt;br /&gt;
(Filed: 30/05/2004)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Ministry of Defence is seeking to sell off dozens of
Eurofighter aircraft before it has even received them in an attempt
to avoid further embarrassment over the escalating cost of the
project.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Government is committed to buying 232 Eurofighters despite
concerns that the aircraft, which is 10 years behind schedule and
&#163;5.4 billion overspent on a budget of about &#163;15 billion, is already
outdated and not suited for modern warfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Ministers are now planning to sell up to 50 of the jets to
Austria and Singapore instead of first re-equipping the Royal Air
Force. The aircraft, which cost about &#163;43 million each, could even
be sold off at a loss if a country bids for a large number of them.
Other countries on a list of potential purchasers include Norway
and South Korea.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Austria has agreed to purchase 18 aircraft, while Greece, which had
said it was interested in buying 60 British Eurofighters, has
deferred a decision on the final contract until after the Olympic
Games.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Government had agreed to buy its Eurofighters in three separate
packages of 55, 88 and 89, over the next 10 years as part of a
joint project with Germany, Italy and Spain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The RAF has already taken delivery of six of the aircraft, which
are being used to train pilots. The arrival of the remaining 49
from the first tranche will be delayed, however, if required by
other countries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although senior RAF officers have tried to argue that the full
complement of 232 aircraft is essential for the security of
Britain, the heads of the Army and the Royal Navy have convinced
the Government that the money could be better used on more relevant
defence projects.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The decision to sell off some of Britain's Eurofighters was
disclosed by Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, in a reply to
a parliamentary question by Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat
MP.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mr Ingram said: "Some consideration has been given to the scope to
provide for early export of Eurofighter to potential overseas
customers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"If pursued, a sale might be accomplished by adjusting the delivery
profile to the RAF. The RAF remains, however, the primary customer
for these aircraft and any decision made will take full account of
its requirements."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Paul Keetch, the defence spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said:
"If other countries get their hands on Eurofighter it will be a
blow to our pilots who have been waiting for this plane for
years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"The fact that the Ministry of Defence is trying to sell off planes
ordered for the RAF might make financial sense, but it is a damning
indictment of government procurement strategy."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The embarrassing revelation comes just days after it emerged that
the Eurofighter's test pilots had been told to avoid flying through
clouds because computer problems risked throwing the aircraft into
a "catastrophic spin".&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a leaked report by a test pilot it emerged that the computer had
a tendency to switch from flight mode to ground mode while still in
the air.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Eurofighter was originally conceived 30 years ago to attack
formations of Soviet bombers attempting to penetrate Western
airspace before a full-scale invasion of Europe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When the threat of invasion disappeared with the collapse of the
Soviet Union, the aircraft was remodelled to become a multi-role
aircraft. The project has since been beset with a succession of
problems, which have delayed the arrival of the aircraft and pushed
up the cost.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Two weeks ago, Mr Ingram was also forced to admit that the separate
&#163;25 billion Joint Strike Fighter project was also facing serious
difficulties after it emerged that the aircraft, which is due to
replace the Harrier jump jet, was more than 3,000lb too heavy to
fly safely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed that the Government was
examining a deal that would see Eurofighters delivered to the
Austrian air force before being delivered to the RAF.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All Eurofighters were recently grounded because of problems with
landing gear and brakes - a problem described by the manufacturers,
British AerospaceSystems, as "teething troubles".&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 2002, during a test flight, a Spanish Eurofighter crashed after
both of its engines failed. Both crew ejected and
survived.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 09:10:26 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1834765</guid>
      <author>nWo</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Stop Press: Singapore to 'buy British Eurofighters' replied by nWo @ Sun, 30 May 2004 09:02:50 +0800</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href=
"http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/europe/view/87550/1/.html"
rel="nofollow"&gt;ChannelNewsAsia&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Posted: 30 May 2004 0710 hrs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Britain to sell off up to 50 Eurofighters:
report&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
LONDON : Britain is to sell off up to 50 brand new Eurofighters to
Austria and Singapore after being left red-faced over the
escalating cost of the project, a British newspaper said on
Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Britain will receive the bulk of the 232 Eurofighters it has
committed to, despite concerns that the aircraft - 10 years behind
schedule and way over budget - is not suitable for modern warfare,
the Sunday Telegraph said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Austria has agreed to purchase 18 aircraft, while Greece, which had
said it was interested in buying 60 British Eurofighters, has
deferred a decision until after the Olympic Games in August.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Singapore has agreed to buy an unspecified number the
British Eurofighters, the newspaper said.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Britain's Royal Air Force, which has already taken delivery of six
of the aircraft, had agreed to buy the Eurofighters in three
tranches of 55, 88 and 89 over the next 10 years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The arrival of the remaining 49 from the first package will be
delayed if required by other countries, the Sunday Telegraph
said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram hinted in parliament last week
that Britain was keen to sell on some of the Eurofighters.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"Some consideration has been given to the scope to provide for
early export of Eurofighter to potential overseas customers," he
said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Britain's Evening Standard newspaper reported in April that test
pilots had found problems with the fighter plane's computer systems
and information displays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multi-role combat jet with a range of
2,500 kilometres and can be equipped with a mix of missiles
depending on its mission.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is built by a four-nation consortium involving the
French-Spanish-German group EADS, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's
Alenia, but is four years behind schedule and hundreds of millions
of euros (dollars) over budget.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Besides Britain, Italy has ordered 121 Eurofighters and Spain
87.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Last month, Germany officially put its first five Eurofighters into
service in the northern city of Rostock. They will mainly be used
for training.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each Eurofighter costs about 80 million euros (US$96 million). -
AFP&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2004 09:02:50 +0800</pubDate>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">sgforums.com:1164:80838:1834758</guid>
      <author>nWo</author>
      <link>http://sgforums.com/forums/1164/topics/80838</link>
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