Singapore Drops Eurofighter from Shortlist

From Jane's Defence Weekly

Eurofighter Typhoon takes a nosedive in Singapore

By ROBERT HEWSON Editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons

London

A shock decision by Singapore to drop the Eurofighter Typhoon from a shortlist of contenders vying to be the Republic's next-generation fighter has thrown the aircraft's manufacturing consortium, comprising BAE Systems, EADS and Alenia, into disarray.

JDW understands that Singapore¹s Defence Science and Technology Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Defence (MinDef), has delivered a letter to the Eurofighter team formally discounting the Typhoon from the NFRP competition.

While no official statement has been made by Singaporean authorities, and the Eurofighter partners have declined to comment, several sources close to the programme have confirmed the unexpected development.

The Eurofighter sales effort in Singapore is being led by BAE Systems.

Singapore's letter of rejection was delivered to BAE Systems' local office late last week. JDW understands that issues of pricing and the reliable release of capability within the RSAF's required timeframe were the key concerns that derailed Eurofighter's bid. Until recently Eurofighter was confident that its performance in Singapore's 2004 evaluation had gone a long way to answering critics questioning the aircraft's capabilities. The securing of funds in December 2004 for Eurofighter Tranche 2 production and development was also seen as a significant boost to Eurofighter's export prospects.