[Sweden]: Call to Great Britain

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration​

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A telephone call is made to the British Ministry of Defence by the General Director of the Defence Procurement Administration, Henning Hellström.
This telephone call is made in line with the Swedish Document Classification and Security Act 1995, which also covers telephonic communication, causing a 'CONFIDENTIAL' encryption level to be appended.

Jamie

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CONFIDENTIAL
Crown Copyright © Kingdom of Sweden
All information is subject to the Swedish Document Classification and Security Act 1995​

 

[Jamie]

Curious as to the unexpected call that was confirmed to be the Swedish Defence Procurement Administration, British Minister Haley Cross answered the call that was placed on an encrypted and private line. Mirroring that of the Swedish representatives initial call. "Hello, you are through to Haley Cross for the Ministry of Defence, how may I help you?" she introduced, falling silent to give her caller an opportunity to speak.

Connor

 

[Connor]

Once the call was answered Henning would sit up from his slouched position as he undoubtedly pressed various buttons on his keypad to reach the correct switchboard for the relevant office.

"Hello! Good evening, thank you for taking my call so promptly! Hayley, I hope you're well - My name is Henning, I'm from the Swedish Defence Procurement Adninistrstion and I was hoping discuss a defence sale? I'm not sure if I've made it to the right place?!"

He chuckles, referencing the switchboard.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Pleasure to speak with you" responded Haley "I can confirm you've come through to the right place and I am looking forward to negotiating with you, especially if it promotes potential business between the United Kingdom and Sweden. How may I help you today?" she echoed. Adjusting her position on the seat to be more comfortable as she waited for a response. Naturally, a pen and paper in front of her to take any notes if necessary.

Connor

 

[Connor]

"Yes, well, time is of the essence with this one I'm afraid - we have been in consultation with Sparrow Industries in order to procure the Raytheon 'Centurion' C-RAM however this order was declined. It transpires that they simply do not have the manufacturing capability in order to produce a product of that technological advancement... prompting us to pursue a nation with access to the product as well as the capability to manufacture it." he pauses to take a sip of water after offloading so much information in so few sentences, the pressure from the Department of Defence mounting as he prepares to continue.

"I understand your first thought is going to be the lost revenue accrued by Sparrow Industries but worry not, we will sort that. I'm looking to negotiate a deal where you'd be able to produce this product for us?"

Jamie

 

[Connor]

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"It is certainly something we're open too but it is something we have to remain cautious about in terms of we'd rather not aim to cause complications with Sparrow Industries but provided they would be willing to supply the parts, we're happy to sell it to you. Might I inquire as to the amount of units you would be interested in procuring? Based on initial calculations --" there was a short pause whilst the Minister did some math. "We would be able to sell at a cost of 7,974,346.10 per unit, excluding VAT. If Sparrow was to block the production, there wouldn't be anything further we could do but as part of the deal if that was to happen, we would refund the cost for the product itself but keep the VAT element of the total amount as labour costs for the work that was attempted; if this is suitable?"

Connor

 

[Connor]

"We did approach Sparrow Industries prior to contacting yourselves however they were unable to access the proper facilities to make the production work to the expected specifications. I don't foresee any issue with your production on our behalf but if there are any ramifications we will speak to Sparrow directly and come to a settlement to ensure the continuation of manufacture. We have no issue with the production cost, do you know what percentage VAT will be appended? This will drastically effect how many units we purchase...- at the moment we're floating around the forty units mark."

Jamie

 

[Connor]

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"We are happy to carry out the production for yourselves in that case with there been no known concerns of Sparrow. As already mentioned, if there was any issues and the parts were suspended, it would be unfortunately out of our hands. Nonetheless, the VAT amount would be 20% normally but as a gesture of goodwill due to the friendship between the UK and Sweden, we would offer this at 15% VAT for this particular order. If it is something you would like to go ahead with, we would just need to know the quantity you would be seeking to procure and we can get this actioned."

Connor

 

[Connor]

"We'd like to make an initial purchase of 56 units, however this is likely to increase in the near future. If you could forward us a breakdown summary I will have the Defence Procurement Administration make the necessary bank transfer immediately."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"Based on my calculations..." there was a short pause, a breakdown submitted to the Swedish Delegate.

Centurion C-RAM
Unit Cost: 7,974,346.10
Subtotal, 56 Units: 446,563,381.6
VAT: 66,984,507.24

Total Cost: 513,547,888.84

This would be done privately and something we can begin building immediately, all that we ask is that with the situation and the GA over South Africa, that it not be public that we had sold you these today. But, rather, we had sold them some time ago before this situation occurred. As I presume these would be placed in South Africa, no?"

Connor

 

[Connor]

"I will arrange the transfer immediately. The conditions of sale are of no concern to us and I cannot foresee any circumstance where the origin of the manufacture of these products would ever reach public knowledge anyhow. I will ensure that the Defence Procurement Administration retain this information in accordance with our data management policies and legislation. The Centurion C-RAM is an incredibly piece of kit that will serve the Swedish Armed Forces in a variety of circumstances in strategic defence, operations, live exercises and training events - whether or not they see service in South Africa is beyond my scope. We do however have the intention to expand our procurement substantially in the coming months, would you be willing to arrange further deals in the future?"

Jamie