…and yet negotiations are on hold. The Gripen makes a lot of sense, but you have to remember that the savings of going with used Eurofighters would cover a lot of operations and the long-term roadmap of the Eurofighter is much more secure than that of the Gripen.
Here is what you don’t seem to get. Even if the Gripen NG actually materializes, it is still in a precarious position with only two backers, neither of which has deep pockets. The Eurofighter has a far larger base of users and will certainly receive more future upgrades over its life than the Gripen.
The contract equals to 2% of the Swedish export any given year. Of course there will be negotiations, I mean how did it look in Thailand, South Africa, Hungary, Czech Republic? The situation still is Gripen or nothing and they will get something.
This is where SwAF are today. Gripen C wont cut it in 10 years from now so something has to be bought. Gripen E offer the desired performance and is the cheapest option on the market. The SwAF will get at least 60 Gripen E. End of story. Because they, just as the swiss, will buy something and there is only one option.
The Eurofighter T1 has nothing to offer. First off, the tender is closed, this means no more bids are accepted. Second off all, the T1 has almost no AG capabilities and needs a serious upgrade that will put the jet right back up at the same price as last time… but with higher operational costs.
Oh, btw. You might want to look at the still ongoing negotiations regarding the F35… 5 years after the formal joining of the programme there is more controversy around it than ever for most partner nations and many are considering cutting their orders (like Netherlands, Italy, Australia, USN etc). The Gripen order looks pretty solid in comparison and the Grien e will materialise as it already is funded for development.
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