The Royal Thai Air Force has released a white paper introducing industrial participation. The white paper says the Purchase and Development (P&D) approach will be adopted for key RTAF project requirements over the next ten years (2020-2030). P&D focuses on technology transfer, RTAF capability enhancement, local content, and support for the domestic defence industry with materiel development.
A long-running clash between the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, and involving the Ministry of Transport, over the use of offsets in civil transport tenders is continuing. Projects are facing further delays. A mediator threw in the towel after only nine days.
South African defence manufacturer Denel Land Systems has issued a tender to establish a pool of third-party service providers to assist with its global portfolio of obligations. The selected candidates will need to compile feasibility studies and business plans for Denel to execute its contractual offset obligations.
Contradictory reports emerged in mid-March regarding the possible cancellation of a deal by Indonesia to procure Russian fighter jets under a countertrade arrangement. Bloomberg reported the U.S. government has forced Indonesia to abandon the deal under the threat of sanctions, while Defense World.net reported that the deal is still on, but delayed by the complexities of the barter element.
Libre Abordo SA, a privately owned Mexican company with no prior experience in the oil trade, has begun bartering corn and water trucks with Venezuelan state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. Libre Abordo has so far taken 6.2 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude for resale in international markets and has two more cargoes of oil and fuel due to be loaded this month.