19 November 2008

Defence department pro-JSF jet fighter?
“The frustration is tangible when speaking with the managers of Saab Gripen in Sweden,” writes de Volkskrant.

“Why did the Defence Ministry invite the airplane manufacturer to join the race against the Joint Strike Fighter if it was not really interested?”

The vice president of Gripen International Bob Kemp tells a delegation of Dutch journalists visiting his factory that he is extremely disappointed with Deputy Defence Minister Jack De Vries. “He acts like a representative of the competition. We have seldom encountered someone with such a strong preference for a plane - the Joint Strike Fighter.”
 
The JSF will be built in the United States in cooperation with other countries. It is in the running to replace the Dutch air force’s F16s.

The Saab managers also say the deputy defence minister has provided parliament with distorted information, such as saying it was impossible to predict the capacities of their plane - the Gripen Next Generation. “Does he really want to give Saab a chance or did he in fact choose Lockheed long ago and does parliament approve what he is doing?”
 
Kemp says that the Gripen Next Generation fighter is “much cheaper in price as well as maintenance”. “The Netherlands will save EUR 6 billion on maintenance costs alone during the life of the plane, in comparison to the JSF.”

A defence department spokeswoman says she is surprised by the comments. She says the information about the plane’s capacities was “double checked”. “We are also surprised that Saab is criticising (us) via the media.”
 
KPN to receive fast internet fibres
Trouw reports that the Dutch telecommunications firm KPN has reached agreement with the Reggefiber company to invest EUR six to seven billion in a glass fibre network which would connect nearly the entire country with fast internet before 2015.

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