Saab Offers Gripen E to Switzerland

[A.P. Richelieu]

https://saabgroup.com/media/news-press/news/2019-01/saab-offers-gripen-e-to-switzerland/

Supported by Sweden, Saab has today submitted its proposal for the Swiss New Fighter Aircraft procurement to armasuisse, the Swiss defence procurement agency. Saab offers Gripen E and a comprehensive industrial participation programme for Swiss industry corresponding to 100 percent of the contract value.

The proposal consisting of options for 30, and 40, new build Gripen E fighter aircraft is a response to the Request for Proposal (RFP), which armasuisse issued 6 July 2018. Switzerland has a need to replace its fighter fleet of F/A-18 Hornet and F-5 E/F Tiger aircraft.

“The proposed Gripen E solution features the latest available technology and low acquisition, operation and support costs that will give Switzerland an optimal fleet size, with the best total operational effect over the coming decades,” says Jonas Hjelm, head of Saab business area Aeronautics.

As part of the proposal to Switzerland, Saab offers Swiss industrial participation worth 100 percent of the contract value. The co-operation with Swiss industry, across all regions of the country, in manufacturing, maintenance and technology will improve competence and capabilities aimed at the sustainment and further development of the Gripen E system in Switzerland. Saab has a historical, strong and broad supplier base in Switzerland, which this programme will further expand to assure cost efficient through-life co-operation.

The Gripen E programme is progressing according to plan, with production on-going and customer deliveries starting this year. The very latest technologies are being incorporated to provide air forces with operational capabilities designed to defeat the threats of today, but also the future. Key milestones achieved during the past six months include flights with IRIS-T and METEOR, as well as the second Gripen E aircraft taking flight.

Five nations currently operate Gripen: Sweden, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand. Sweden and Brazil have ordered Gripen E. Additionally, the UK Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) uses Gripen as platform for test pilot training.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/reu...ffers-to-replace-aging-jet-fighter-fleet.html

Swiss get five offers to replace aging jet fighter fleet
ZURICH, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Switzerland on Friday received five bids to replace its aging fighter fleet, from European aerospace group Airbus, France's Dassault and Sweden's Saab, as well as Boeing and Lockheed Martin from the United States.

Switzerland's stable of Boeing McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C and D Hornets and Northrop F-5 Tigers is scheduled to be retired in the coming years, prompting it to seek new planes as part of its Air2030 program including aircraft and ground-based air defenses worth up to 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.06 billion).

It will now consider Airbus's Eurofighter, Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale, F-35As made by Lockheed-Martin and Saab's Gripen E.

"The phase of analysis and testing starts," the Swiss Defence Department said. "From February to March 2019, specialists from (Swiss defense procurement agency) armasuisse and the Swiss Air Force will test the aircraft in simulators" at facilities of the planes' manufacturers.

Between April and July, the planes will be in Switzerland for aerial and ground tests, with public viewing opportunities. Assessments will continue through 2020 before a decision is made.

Switzerland wants new planes to be delivered by 2025.

Armasuisse had asked the planemakers to submit pricing for 30 or 40 planes, including logistics and guided missiles, among other criteria for the bids.

Switzerland, which last fought a short war in 1847, has struggled to convince its citizens to back a deal for new planes.

In 2014, around 52 percent voted against a 3.5 billion franc government proposal to buy 22 Gripen fighter jets from Saab. (https://reut.rs/2S6tTBS)

A renewed vote on the new program is also expected. ($1 = 0.9925 Swiss francs)

 

[Tshering22]

Supported by Sweden, Saab has today submitted its proposal for the Swiss New Fighter Aircraft procurement to armasuisse, the Swiss defence procurement agency.

I thought you guys had already sold the Gripens to Swiss in 2017, right? What happened to the whole Swiss parliament taking a vote on whether to even have an air force or not?

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

I thought you guys had already sold the Gripens to Swiss in 2017, right? What happened to the whole Swiss parliament taking a vote on whether to even have an air force or not?

Any major decision in Switzerland will be decided in a referendum, not the parlament.
The Swiss voted against buying Gripen a few years ago.
The new vote will be on purchasing a fighter or not, without specifying the type.

 

[Tshering22]

Any major decision in Switzerland will be decided in a referendum, not the parlament.
The Swiss voted against buying Gripen a few years ago.
The new vote will be on purchasing a fighter or not, without specifying the type.

Wow.... well technically speaking, they could do away with combat aircraft at all. They have robust foreign relations with everyone and keep to themselves, except for business. If anything, they'd need UAVs for patrolling and helicopters for emergency and disaster management.

Swiss government could simply divert the 'air force budget' to acquiring more transport and emergency carrier type of aircraft.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Wow.... well technically speaking, they could do away with combat aircraft at all. They have robust foreign relations with everyone and keep to themselves, except for business. If anything, they'd need UAVs for patrolling and helicopters for emergency and disaster management.

Swiss government could simply divert the 'air force budget' to acquiring more transport and emergency carrier type of aircraft.

That might very well be a result of a referendum.
If the Swiss say no to having an air force, the government will have to comply, I guess.

 

[xyxmt]

Will it have a Swiss Army knife POD?

 

[Tshering22]

Will it have a Swiss Army knife POD?

Maybe.

I really don't see them using AMRAMs or Pythons or AGMs for anything. Gripens if selected by them, would easily serve the purpose of aerial patrolling and interdiction with very basic weapons. The maximum someone will intrude in their airspace, that too accidentally, would be either Germans, French, Italians or Austrians. No one else.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Only Gripen or F-16 makes sense for Switzerland for maintaining minimum deterrence.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schw...er-des-f-35-macht-peinlichen-fehler-134171697

Google Translate:

New Fighter Jets: Manufacturer of the F-35 makes embarrassing mistakes

The American F-35 is the most modern fighter jet that the Swiss Army will evaluate in the coming months. But a faulty documentation raises questions: How serious is Lockheed Martin with his offer?

The sentence has written Swiss Air Force history. "You must not pretend that we need a Ferrari and can afford a Ferrari," said former army chief André Blattmann, after the Federal Council in 2011 had chosen the cheapest solution to buy with the fighter jet Gripen. Thus the dream of Luftwaffe-close circles, which had hoped for a more modern airplane, smashed itself. But the Federal Council failed with its strategy: The voters rejected the purchase of the Gripen 2014 from.

Meanwhile, the state government has launched the next attempt to procure a new fighter jet. And the critics of the Gripen see their chance for a fighter jet of the top class intact again: Their hope rests this time on the American F-35 of the arms company Lockheed Martin. Of the types of aircraft that the Army evaluates between April and June, it is the only one belonging to the fifth generation. The US has developed the high-tech stealth plane together with friendly states. The offer from manufacturer Lockheed Martin arrived punctually in Bern at the end of January. But given the small order quantity of about 30 aircraft, the question is how great the interest of Americans in the business with Switzerland really is.
Lockheed Martin praised his F-35 under the slogan "Unsurpassed Skills to Secure the Swiss Airspace". The aircraft could transmit its data directly to the "commanders at sea".

Doubts arose in recent days, after on the website of Lockheed Martin on the Swiss F-35 offer a gross error emerged: The arms company with an annual turnover of over 50 billion US dollars praised in the ability of the aviator, of his Sensors to transmit data immediately to the "commanders on the sea" (see excerpt above). The fact that the Swiss Confederation is a landlocked country without a sea connection and an aircraft carrier did not seem to be clear to the authors. The specifications of the Luftwaffe should not have been thoroughly read. In any case, the Defense Department says: "The ability to exchange shipments of crew members without delay is irrelevant to the requirements of the Luftwaffe."




Lockheed Martin is still unperturbed initially. A spokeswoman praises the F-35 as a multipurpose combat aircraft that can be used "in a variety of scenarios": "At home and in cooperative operations with allies over land, sea and air". She does not seem to know that Switzerland, as a neutral country, does not focus on "cooperative operations with Allies". A week later, Lockheed Martin changed his mind. Switzerland is no longer available on the F-35 website. Instead, an error message appears. The spokeswoman confirmed that the page had been "temporarily removed" after the request of the editors CH Media. The documentation will be revised to clarify why the F-35 is the right aircraft for Switzerland.

The flawed website is not the only reason air force experts doubt the involvement of Lockheed Martin. The pending participation confirmation of the Americans at the air show "Zigermeet" in the canton of Glarus is also to be discussed this August: industry experts and competitors see it as another indication that Lockheed may not be that serious. The manufacturers of the three European jets will all be on site with two machines each. The OC president of the show says an appearance of the F-35 is possible, the talks are going on.
In any case, SVP security politician and pilot Thomas Hurter is optimistic. "A flight event in Glarus alone is not decisive." The Americans are interested in Switzerland. "Even if we do not buy a large quantity. Our evaluations are considered very thorough. Who wins with us, improves his reputation. »
The group sees this differently for a Switzerland without an army. The F-35 is "a super high-performance jet", which misses the needs of the Confederation, says Secretary Lewin Lempert. "There is no genuine interest in making an armaments business with Switzerland."

 

[BATMAN]

Looks like US has hired, way too many Indians in F-35 IT dpt.

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

All that aside, can it be dipped in swiss chocolate and come out crispy?

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

https://hushkit.net/2019/04/13/which-fighter-aircraft-will-switzerland-choose/

Which fighter aircraft will Switzerland choose?
Hush KitApril 13, 2019

Switzerland is a small landlocked nation with powerful neighbours. It has not fought since its civil war of 1847, and has not fought a foreign nation since 1815. Today the neutral nation defends its sovereignty with a small air force of frontline F/A-18s supported by F-5Es. It now seeks to replace both — and an evaluation of five candidates has begun.

Five fighter types are being pitted against each to compete for a lucrative order for 30-40 aircraft for the Swiss Air Force. From Europe, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen E; from the US — the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.

Switzerland selected the Gripen E/F for its fighter needs following an evaluation against the Typhoon and Rafale in 2008. According to a leaked section of the evaluation report, the Rafale had done very well in this evaluation, Typhoon had proved mediocre and Gripen (the C/D rather than then unbuilt E/F was tested) unsatisfactory in several key areas. Despite this, the Gripen was seen as cost effective, and it was hoped that the upcoming E/F variant would rectify most of the C/D’s shortcomings. The Gripen purchase was a big deal for a small nation, and as has been the case in the past (like the Hornet deal of 1993) was subject to a nationwide vote. The 22-aircraft Gripen contract was rejected by 53.4% of voters in 2014. At least $3.5 billion was expected to be saved, a figure the Swiss people thought better spent on education and social security. The result was interesting, “It is the first time that the left, who had challenged a parliament decision to a nationwide vote, has been successful in a military issue” according to Ppolitical analyst Claude Longchamp in a Swiss Info article. The new purchase will be dependent on a second referendum in 2020.

Who will win the fighter deal?

To assess the most likely candidate we need to understand a little about the Swiss Air Force and their concept of operations (abbreviated as CONOPS). The Swiss CONOPS prioritises local air policing, against the possibility of a high-end threat, to protect Swiss Neutrality. Their basing model involves hardened and dispersed airfields.

Historically they have not been shy to pay for high-end capability. They’ve tended to go for expensive and complex systems in the past, notably getting the Falcon missile integrated onto the Mirage IIIS, and adding Electronic Counter Measures and Radar Warning Receivers to the normally austerely equipped Hawker Hunter. More recently they chose the McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet over the F-16 because of its radar/weapon combination. They make long-term investments in their aircraft (their Hunters served until 1994 and their F-5Es are still operational) so choose mature but modern systems. They prioritise credible and survivable options, and can afford them when needed. They also dropped any air-ground tasking a few years ago. That means aircraft optimised or compromised by air-to-ground performance are at a disadvantage. That’s a big factor with the F/A-18E, and to a lesser extent with Rafale. The F/A-18E’s big advantage of commonality with its forebear, the legacy Hornet, may not be as tempting as it first seems as the older fleet will be completely withdrawn – though familiarity and a good reputation could help its case. Typhoon is the most capable option in pure air-to-air performance, and unlike the earlier evaluation, AESA radar should be available from the outset – an option Switzerland would be likely to go for. But Typhoon is expensive to purchase and operate. The choice between Rafale and Typhoon revolves around a mixture of cost and how much air-to-air performance is required. Typhoon has a premium performance at a price (though investigations in India have highlighted that the oft-quoted price advantage of Rafale may not be all it seems). The Rafale is a capable aircraft that could serve Switzerland well, but is probably more capable and costly than is necessary.

Switzerland is likely to be more tempted by the later model Gripen, particularly if initial cost is an issue. The MBDA Meteor long-range missile should prove a desirable item and could make a big difference. Today Meteor is operational with Typhoon and Gripen, with Rafale service imminent.

Switzerland’s defensive posture is about credible deterrence in the situation of a European War — and avoiding being a transit zone for others. The Swiss Government is not happy when NATO assets take short-cuts through their airspace, as sometimes happened during conflict in the Balkans. A fast-climbing fighter with good readiness and availability is vital if the SwAF wishes to deter such intrusions.

The Swiss military is also mindful of Russian influence in subverting politics in parts of Eastern Europe, and they’re wary. The perceived high-end threat threat is thus likely to be a ‘Flanker’ derivative with a long-range BVR weapon. This puts the Super Hornet in the outsider position, mostly down to it being the poorest air-to-air performer, and the oldest technology airframe. The reach of an air-to-air missile is closely tied to the specific excess power (SEP) of the platform in the supersonic manoeuvre when launching, a good sustained turn rate is also vital. The Super Hornet has less SEP at higher Mach than the original and a poor STR compared to its rivals.

Though the rapid integration of the US Navy’s new BVR missile, probably a large weapon optimised for the Super Hornet could offset the F/A-18E/F’s disadvantage to some extent, this depends on a degree of faith in the development timescale and availability (to a non -priority export nation) of the weapon. This project, rumoured to be progressing well, is currently veiled in secrecy.

Which leaves the F-35A. The aircraft scores highly for situational awareness (SA) and offensive survivability, but is optimised for ground attack and is probably the hardest aircraft to maintain. It has so far had very low readiness rates, a large issue for a small nation wishing to maintain a Quick Reaction Alert force.

It will also not be as easy to deploy as the Gripen E/F. At this stage in time, Gripen E/F seems both the best fit and the likely choice while, probably, being cheaper than the alternatives.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Gripen has lost out in a big way over the years. Even the Rafale, which was considered an expensive fighter with no deals, has managed to secure some deals after all.

Switzerland looks like a country that could go for Gripen, but I doubt they will. Gripen has too much competition in their category. There are either cheaper and comparable alternatives or a little more expensive and better.

 

[Fledgingwings]

This Jet looks very Beautiful.