BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Saab presented its annual Gripen seminar today.  There is nothing really groundbreaking, just minor updates on the deal with Brazil and the continued development of the E/NG models alongside the Gripen C/D. For those of you who are interested, check it out here:   http://saab-seminar.creo.se/150312/saabs_annual_gripen_seminar_2015 Don't worry...  It's presented in english.

Not gonna happen. It seems that the long soap opera that was Switzerland's Gripen acquisition has come to a sad end for Saab. On May 18, 2014, 53% of voters of voters voted "NO" on purchasing the Saab Gripen E...  Or any other jet fighter. So what happened? Swiss politics. In December, 2011, the Saab Gripen was selected to replace Switzerland's F-5E Tiger II.  The selection itself was controversial, with an infamous "leaked" report stating that the Dassault Rafale was the obvious winner and that the Gripen tested was not suitable.  This report has been neutered somewhat since, as some of the requirements were rather odd.  It also tested the Gripen C model, not the improved Gripen E.  The Swiss government would end up defending its Gripen choice , as did the Swiss military . The Swiss Gripen selection was enough to encourage the Swedish government to approve "NG" (next generation) Gripen funding.  With two purchases on the horizon...

Wait...  Maybe I phrased that wrong. It looks like Saab has another customer. Hot off of the Dassault Rafale being disqualified from its F-X2 fighter competition,  Brazil has decided to declare Saab's Gripen as the winner. With the Rafale gone, and the F-18E/F Super Hornet weighed down with the extra baggage of limited technology transfer and...  Uh...   American wiretapping ,   The Gripen's victory isn't much of a surprise. It's just a model...   For now. Will this lead to development of the Sea Gripen?  Will the increased orders help secure the Gripen NG's development and help Saab lower costs even more?  Will this free up Saab's marketing department to start working on Canada next? Let's hope so.

A decision still seems to be a ways off for for Brazil's F-X2 fighter competition .  Intended to replace its interim second hand Mirage 2000Cs (Brazil's Mirage IIIs have been retired), Brazil has been considering the Dassault Rafale, the Boeing F-18E/F Super Hornet, and the Saab Gripen E/F.  It now looks like the Rafale will no longer be considered  due to price concerns. This is bad news for Dassault, which hasn't seen its deal with India move as smooth at it would like, and French production has been slowed for budgetary reasons.  The Rafale is on the list of potential fighter choices for Canada and other countries, but its increasingly looking like a longshot when pitted against industry giants like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the Eurofighter consortium. The Rafale would have been a great fit for Brazil.  Transition from its current Mirage fleet would have been a snap, and the Rafale M would make a great contender to replace aging A-4 Skyhawks ...

Take out your tin-foil hats, it's time for some wild conjecture. "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Previously, we looked at reports that Saab and Boeing are joining forces to offer a bid for the USAF's T-X program.  Most likely, offering a decontented two-seat Saab Gripen as a contender to replace the aging T-38 Talon trainer.  The move makes sense for all the parties involved, Boeing gets to offer a high performance, low maintenance airframe; while Saab manages to sell more Gripens (or derivative thereof) than it ever would have been able to on its own.  Additionally, the USAF gets access to a worthy platform capable of preparing pilots to fly the F-35, F-22, and possibly whatever other manned fighters the USAF introduces in the next 30-50 years. But it doesn't stop there.  The winning contender for the T-X program will likely find itself performing other roles besides simply preparing pilots to fly high performance jets. ...