France confident on Brazil Rafale deal

PARIS Jan 6 (Reuters) - French Defence Minister Herve Morin brushed off on Wednesday a report that the Brazilian air force favoured a Swedish aircraft over the Rafale jet that Paris is hoping to sell it.

The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported on Tuesday that an air force report found Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST) had the best project among three finalists for the contract, ahead of both Dassault Aviation's (AVMD.PA) Rafale and Boeing's (BA.N) F-18. [ID:nN05105396]

However Morin said that the decision, to be taken by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, would include a variety of long-term strategic factors.

"We are confident in our relations with Brazil," Morin told BFM television in an interview, noting that France had already secured submarine and helicopter orders from Brazil worth some 4.5 billion euros as part of a strategic defence agreement.

"Buying a combat aircraft is buying a complete arms system. It's not just buying something you get off the shelf," he said.

"It's deciding what you include, what type of missile, which radar, what protection systems, what maintenance requirements, it's a decision for 40 years," he said.

"It's a decision with an enormous number of parameters and so inevitably, it's a long discussion," Morin said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is counting on his strong personal relations with Lula to help seal the deal, which would be the first export order for the Rafale and would potentially open the door to sales in other regions.

The Rafale is France's next generation, multirole combat aircraft and has been a flagship programme for France's arms industry but it has had problems in finding export buyers, despite being shortlisted several times. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Hans Peters)