The Austrian government came to a decision today to replace the aging SAAB 35 Draken fighters with a new successor. Three aircraft were the final contenders: The Lockheed/Martin F-16 Falcon, the SAAB 39 Gripen and the EADS Eurofighter Typhoon.Despite what most people here thought that the Gripen would make the cut, it was the EADS Eurofighter Typhoon which was selected.The main selling points were the offset deals for the Austrian industry, as well as the latest technology the Typhoon has to offer. Leaves only one minor point: How are we going to pay for these jets?Regards from LOWS.

At least you are using Euros and not Schillings now, so it won't 'appear' to be as expensive as before ;-) :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose2.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

Wow, that's really a surprise! BTW, here's the press release from the Austrian Defense Ministry website (in German): http://www.bmlv.gv.at/abfangjaeger/entsche...rofighter.shtmlWelcome to the club! ;-)