US Spying Costs Boeing Military Jet Deal With Brazil
Found on Slashdot on Thursday, 19 December 2013
Brazil awarded a $4.5 billion contract to Saab AB on Wednesday to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets, a surprise coup for the Swedish company after news of U.S. spying on Brazilians helped derail Boeing's chances for the deal.
Until earlier this year, Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet had been considered the front runner. But revelations of spying by the U.S. National Security Agency in Brazil, including personal communication by Rousseff, led Brazil to believe it could not trust a U.S. company.
Fair enough. Even if the government does not care about people, at least lost deals like this one should make politicans think a little.