1000-2000 market for a cheap light fighter?

Several thousand fighters of F-5, Mig-21, Mirage, earlier F-16 ilk were exported. The fighters currently available are mostly heavier and much more expensive to buy and operate. It is clear that many countries find the cost of modern fighters a barrier to replacing types reaching the end of their service lives.

What replacements are available? SAAB is developing the Gripen E. The emphasis is on increasing capability over Gripen C – not on reducing cost. India is developing Tejas Mk2 where again the objective is achieving a capability not reached by Tejas Mk1 – not on reducing cost. South Korea is developing the F-50. Could it turn out to be a really low cost light fighter – cheap to buy and cheap to operate?

I suggest that an international consortium be formed to look into developing a cheap, light fighter – something like a JLF program.

Markets:

(a) all those countries that cannot afford to replace their ageing light fighter fleets due to the higher cost of the (very capable) fighters now available

(b) countries operating a mix of types (eg F5 + F-16, F5 + F18)

(c) countries operating only expensive fighter types where air policing / undefended air space strike roles could be discharged at massively reduced cost (you don’t need a $75+ million aircraft costing $10,000+ per hour to fly for these duties)

Which countries might be interested? Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia… perhaps EADS, BAE Systems, SAAB would like to be involved? Given that most countries cannot afford Typhoon or even Gripen E, this could turn out to be a lucrative project for those involved.