EADS, Saab,Dassault to bid for Swiss F-5E combat aircraft programme

The three manufacturers EADS, Saab and Dassault submitted to armasuisse their second offers for the partial replacement of the Swiss air force’s fleet of F-5E Tiger combat aircraft on 17th April. On January 15, 2009 armasuisse has issued to the three companies a revised request for proposals (RFP) for the partial replacement of the Tiger fleet (TTE Project), comprising 26 modules. The second offer submitted by the manufacturers covers 24 modules. For the last two modules (“strategic cooperation” and “Swiss industrial program portfolio”), armasuisse has given the manufacturers a deadline extension. The “international cooperation” module was not included in the original RFP issued in January 2008. The “Swiss industrial program portfolio” contains stricter conditions relating to the quality of the proposals. Because of this, manufacturers require additional time to prepare their proposals for these two additional modules. The revised deadline for filing proposals relating to the last two modules is May 29, 2009. The Way Forward :. Selection of the aircraft that will replace the F-5 Tiger is scheduled for early 2010. Before that date, the Federal Council requires that a new report on security policy be approved, probably in December 2009. The schedule for the preparation of the evaluation report has consequently been revised; it will be completed by December 2009. The additional time will be used to analyze the offers, and to continue negotiations with manufacturers. Noise Measurement :. As part of the in-flight evaluations, in 2008, at the request of armasuisse the EMPA agency measured aircraft noise levels. The analysis of the noise data collected is continuing. The Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport will announce the results when they have been completed.