Boeing Steps Up Legal Challange Against Denmark Over Combat Jet Choice
March 02 2017 - 8:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
LONDON--Boeing Co. (BA) is stepping up its legal challenge over
Denmark's decision to pick another company's aircraft in a closely
watched combat jet competition, even as the U.S. planemaker's
F/A-18 Super Hornet enjoys rising fortunes at home.
Denmark last year said it would buy the Lockheed Martin Co.
(LMT) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's biggest weapons
program. Boeing, with its F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the Eurofighter
Typhoon, built by a consortium of Airbus Group SE (AIR.FR), BAE
Systems PLC (BA.LN), and Leonardo-Finmeccanica SpA, lost out.
Boeing in September brought its case against the Danish
government over its plane choice. The Chicago-based company at the
time called the selection process "fundamentally flawed."
The U.S. planemaker on Thursday said it hadn't been granted
access to information it was legally entitled to review as part of
those proceedings. "It's been almost six months since we requested
the documents and the Ministry has not responded as required,"
Boeing Defense, Space & Security senior vice president for
Global Sales & Marketing, Tom Bell said.
The Danish Defense Ministry didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment. It said in September that Boeing would be
given access to information.
Boeing said it has only been granted access to "a small
fraction" of the information it is entitled to review.
The Danish Defense Ministry in May recommended the purchase of
27 F-35 combat planes to replace the country's aging F-16 jets.
Denmark has been using the F-16, also made by Lockheed Martin, in
the Middle East as part of the coalition striking Islamic State
targets. The decision was later endorsed by the government in
June.
Boeing filed the legal challenge when questions were mounting
about the long term viability of continued production of the
twin-engine Super Hornet with demand in the U.S. ebbing. But the
U.S. Navy has signaled it wants more of the planes and U.S.
President Donald Trump also has held out the prospects of buying an
enhanced version.
Boeing was asked to price its F/A-18 combat jets as a potential
substitute for some of Lockheed Martin's F-35s. The Pentagon last
month launched a review comparing the Boeing plane with the
F-35.
Mr. Trump last month said the government was considering "a big
order" of additional F/A-18s.
-Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2017 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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