parts stock was used up in the War.--Stephen V Cole

Brazil has approved a $3.2 billion program to provide its Air Force with new equipment. The move was prompted when Colombia destroyed two Brazilian civilian planes that had been used for drug smuggling. The Brazilians apparently realized that they did not have enough aircraft to control their own air space. Plans call for the modernization of the 47 old F-5E/F fighters and the replacement of ten Mirage-IIIs. Candidates for the Mirage-III replacement include the Swedish JAS39 Gryphon, the French Mirage-2000-5, the Russian Su-27, the US F-16C or F-18E, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Sources in Brazil speculate that Brazil will buy Mirage-2000s if the