Eurofighter GmgH, OSLO/HALLBERGMOOS: The Eurofighter partnership consolidates the close ties to Norway by signature of a further agreement on technological cooperation between the Eurofighter consortium of Alenia Aeronautica (Italy), BAE Systems (United Kingdom), EADS CASA (Spain), EADS Germany and Norway.
Eurofighter CEO Aloysius Rauen signed the Letter of Agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Defence (NMOD) in the presence of the German Ambassador to Norway Roland Mauch, who represented the four Eurofighter Nations, and the Norwegian Defence Minister, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen.
This Letter of Agreement with the NMOD sets out the principles to be applied to industrial contracts and includes the funding commitment from the NMOD to cover the development contracts between Norwegian and Eurofighter Partner Companies.
Aloysius Rauen commented at the signing ceremony, “This new Agreement is a further important element in meeting the demands of Norway's competition for a new combat aircraft. It will allow the Eurofighter Partnership to continue to develop and demonstrate its ability to deliver high technology in partnership with Norwegian industry. This new agreement will also provide vital continuity to Norwegian industry in preparation for the potential NOK 40 Billion (approx. EUR 4.9 billion) which would accrue as part of the industrial package associated with a Norwegian choice of Eurofighter as its F-16 replacement. This industrial work would form a substantial part of the Eurofighter package for Norway, combining Eurofighter Typhoon's unmatched operational capability with a comprehensive training and through life support package to provide an unbeatable solution to meet Norway's long-term strategic military and industrial requirements.”
The Agreement, worth potentially EUR 75M over the next 4 years, marks the continuation of the successful partnership with Norwegian industry which started in 2003 with a previous Industrial Participation Agreement which in itself was worth EUR 35.7M. This previous agreement covered ten Eurofighter development projects with six Norwegian companies including work on target imagining, advanced radar technology, noise suppression, 3D Archiving and other advanced high technology projects.
The new Agreement signed today will provide Norwegian industry with full access to high technology programmes within the Eurofighter Partner Companies, which will ensure that Norwegian industry will be in the best position to maximise the work associated with the forthcoming procurement decision.
The industrial agreement, together with the existing Letter of Understanding (LoU) between the Governments of Norway and the 4 Eurofighter Nations, demonstrates the strength of commitment from the Eurofighter Partner Nations to meet Norway's F-16 replacement requirement.
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