Air Force chief says French fighter jet deal close

[nomi007]

congrats indians
mig-21 will serves more years

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

I am far away from being an expert and am only saying, that one has to differ between Soviet Union and Russia...

- military in Soviet Union and military in Russia
- defence budget in Soviet Union and defence budget in Russia
- defence development in Soviet Union and defence development in Russia
- defence export in Soviet Union and defence export in Russia

And then you see the difference between the military Superpower Soviet Union and the military power Russia, that might still have the numbers on paper, but can't afford to maintain, develop or even produce arms in the same manner like in the past.

You can even take Indian procurements as an example, we bought an Akula SSN, that was half build, because the Russians didn't had the money to complete it. We bought a carrier that was not repaired, because the Russians didn't had the money to repair and operate it and so on.

Politically we are on the same page, since I said that the US is the only current Superpower, but wrt defence again, China is becoming the next big thing and that's what's making everybody so nervous, be it Japan, US, India or even Russia.



It isn't, that was just a hypothetical scenario



I never said it would, only that the current Gripen has a the RM12 and therefor Sweden has the engine know how, that could had been useful for India / the Kaveri development in a partnership.



=>



As I said, Sweden can't afford to operate such a large fleet and that's why Gripen C/Ds are desperately offered for 2 nd hand sales or leasing contracts (just as they were offered to India too).

That's why we are ordering 70 Gripen E...

Sweden = 10 M citizens
India = 1000 M + citizens.
It is like India ordering 7000 Rafales ;-)

The previous plan was to cannibalize older Gripen C/Ds to build some of the Gripen E,
but that has been abandoned due to expected demands for leasing from Slovakia, Brazil etc.

What can be afforded or not, is not the issue. Sweden, unlike southern European countries
have our economy in order, but money not spent on defense can be spent elsewhere.

We use to spend much more on defense (as a percentage of GDP),
but when the Soviet Union went down the drains, the military has gotten less funds.

Now with the erratic behaviour of Putin, budgets will be increased again.

 

[sancho]

That's why we are ordering 70 Gripen E...

That's not correct:

The Swedish government previously said it would only purchase the JAS 39 Gripen E -- currently being developed by the Swedish aerospace firm Saab -- if it had another buyer to share the development costs.

Switzerland had planned to buy 22 of the 60 fighter jets ordered by Sweden and share development costs, until voters rejected the deal in a May referendum.

SVT estimated the additional price tag for Sweden to be in the region of "several billion" kronor (several hundred million euros) and said the decision was supported by the main opposition party, currently leading in polls for next month's general election.

The 60 jets are due for delivery in 2018.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/...uy-next-generation-jets-despite-swiss-pullout


So Sweden might order 60 or even 70 fighters, but they were never intended for the Swedish Air Force alone, but includes exports too. Now without Switzerland, Sweden just have commited itself to develop the E and order a basic minimum to produce the version, but the order still includes fighters for exports, now Brazilians although the share should be lower than the 22 of the Swiss.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

That's not correct:



Sweden to buy next-generation jets despite Swiss pullout | GlobalPost


So Sweden might order 60 or even 70 fighters, but they were never intended for the Swedish Air Force alone, but includes exports too. Now without Switzerland, Sweden just have commited itself to develop the E and order a basic minimum to produce the version, but the order still includes fighters for exports, now Brazilians although the share should be lower than the 22 of the Swiss.

No, it has been decided already that Flygvapnet needs 70 Gripen E,
so the order for 60 will get a follow-on order for an additional 10.
The Brazilian planes will be on top of that.
Brazil may lease some Gripen C/D until deliveries of the Gripen E.

Think Swedish sources are more reliable.
Klartecken för nya Jas-plan | Inrikes | SvD

Also this presentation from SAAB, (before Swiss decision) clearly states 60 Gripen E for Sweden
to be followed by 22 Gripen E for Switzerland.
http://www.saabgroup.com/Global/Doc... Nilsson_Gripen for Sweden_ 19 March 2013.pdf