Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Thursday that the winner of a multi-billion-dollar contract to supply the Brazilian air force would not be announced until after Easter, April 4.

France's Dassault with its Rafale fighter, Sweden's Saab with the Gripen NG aircraft and US-based Boeing with the F/A-18 Super Hornet are competing to supply Brazil's air force with 36 new fighter jets.

The deal has an initial value of an estimated four to 10 billion dollars, with the possibility of many more fighters being added later on.

"Work is underway in the legal sector of the defense ministry. We are examining the legality of the proceedings, so that I can later submit an explanatory memorandum (on the preferred aircraft model) to the president," Jobim told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Rio de Janeiro.

"I think I will be able to present a statement of reasons to the president after Easter."

Officials had said a decision was expected by the end of March.

Saab's Gripen NG fighter is reportedly favored by the Brazilian air force, but Jobim and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have repeatedly said they prefer the more powerful and more expensive Rafale jet by France's Dassault company.

Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet is seen as an outside contender because of doubts that Brazil would obtain the total technology transfer it is seeking as part of the deal.

Jobim stressed the importance Brazil attaches to technology transfers, as the South American giant seeks to become a supplier of combat aircraft in Latin America.

"We're not buying planes. We are acquiring a technology package, professional training and technology transfers," he said.

Strategic Affairs Minister Samuel Pinheiro Guimaraes has said he favors France's Rafale because it allows for certain parts to be produced in Brazil, facilitating the country's scientific, technological and commercial progress.

Saab's chief executive officer, Aake Svensson, told a business conference in Sao Paulo Thursday also attended by visiting Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf that the Gripen was "a perfect match" for Brazil.

"Sweden is looking not for a customer but for a longterm partner to develop this advanced product," he emphasized.

"It will comprise real technology transfer. With that we mean we do not transfer technology, we develop technology together... We become mutually reliant on each other."