Does the rest of the wolrd even take notice whether you have 40 planes or 6? May be the argies do, other than that its not like UK is going to threaten anyone without the help of its big Brother across the Altantic.

While LM is at it trying to sell the F 35 SAAB ain’t that far back either

New Gripen Ad For MMRCA Says A Lot

This very interesting advert for the Gripen NG appears in the current edition of India’s biggest news magazine, India Today. It says a lot of things. One, it appears three months after the Gripen was officially eliminated from the Indian MMRCA competition. Two, and more interestingly, Saab’s creative concept has shifted away from simply highlighting the Gripen’s virtues (also of “autonomy” and “independence”), and now takes a direct shot at the two finalists in the competition — the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale — on cost and stated capability. In short, Saab believes it still has a chance, and this fight isn’t finished.

In one part, the advert says, “Performance counts when aircraft are in the air, defending the skies. Unfortunately, too many fighter aircraft are either sitting on the ground because they are too expensive to fly or simply do not have the capabilities that they were touted to have.” Ouch.

Also, “[The Gripen IN] has taken the essential philosophy behind the Gripen to the next level, making it a fighter of the latest generation priced at less than half of its peers and operating at a fraction of the cost.” The folks at Saab know all too well how delicate the next step in the MMRCA selection will be — the opening of bids and toss-ups against a benchmark price, understood to be ready and defined.

It gets better. The ad goes on the declare “Today, India has a choice”. Hmm, yep — between the Typhoon and Rafale, right? Well, there’s nothing official about it, but it’s been rumoured for a while that the four companies that were eliminated three months ago from the Indian MMRCA fighter competition (including Saab), have been “asked” to stick around in the country. The applicability of the aphorism “it ain’t over, till it’s over” to Indian defence contracting has much to do with what some see as a track that runs parallel to the ongoing selection process. A track that appears to internalize the possibility of complete chaos.

The MRCA is far from over !

MAD is not definitive you know. The soviet doctrine had plans for rapid deployment and occupation after Nuclear war for example.

I would like to see how MIG 29K with 1064 element Zhuk AE and R 77/R73E will do against Super Hornet Block II 🙂

That great lover of peace, a man of giant stature who moulded, as few other men have done, the destinies of his age. – Pandit Nehru on his death.

The victory in WW2 alone qualifies him as great.

We need strong will from world leaders Stalin is just one example I can think of several U.S presidents too.

Iron fist we need Joseph Stalin.

HAF Mirages are not for sale, they never were.
Serbia has only 4 MiG-29s left – also not for sale

True about the HAF Mirages. The Greeks have not completley lost their spine and selling the Mirages is like letting Turks have their way.

But UAE is an option for the Mirages for the MIGs the Malaysians may sell if they can get a good price, but the best bet is RuAF itself, who may be willing to let go of some fulcrums as new types enter service.