Brasília, 10/1/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Brazilian government has reopened the bidding process for the purchase of 12 fighter jets for its Air Force. At the beginning of the year the recently installed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva administration postponed the process until 2004, saying that the US$700 million needed to buy the planes would be better spent on social assistance programs.

The candidate-aircraft are manufactured in France (by the Dassault factory which makes the Mirage and has a partnership contract with the Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer); the US with its F-16; Russia with the Mig and Sukhoi, and an Anglo-Swedish group with the Grippen. (AB)