What weapons will their NG carry?

Replace the lightweight F-5 with a twin engine front-line fighter during budget crisis? Absurd.

Here is an idea!
Su-30s with GE-F110 engines!

They would be just as likely to order the MiG-35 with EJ200’s.

If the Gripen shares common engine logistics then it’s a big plus IMHO. Too bad Dassault didn’t have the luxury of an M88-derived light fighter to help spur engine price efficiencies. I’ve said it several times in the past that they should have fielded an F.1 that used the M88. The F.1 is far from useless.

I always liked the F-106A as the best of the century fighters. (Although I like the F-105 more, I see it as the tactical bomber it truly is and not as a fighter.) I never understood why the forces that be couldn’t build some kind of an F-106C program as a dedicated ANG solution to cover the airspace over the CONUS. Simple, affordable, dependable, and something that did the job well. It didn’t need to carry an AWG-9 weapons system or be multirole. It could have utilized OTS missiles like the AIM-9 and AIM-7, later adopting AIM-120. Don’t get me wrong, the F-16 is a fine choice for the ANG today. I just think the F-16 program has ballooned to be a jack of all trades and to redesign it as an interceptor at this point would not be politically acceptable. I’m not a fan of the fixed intake that’s optimized for strike duty. There is no internal weapons bay. It doesn’t have an IRST; perhaps an aircraft dedicated to the interceptor role should carry a twin IRST/TCS chin like the F-14D. The F-16’s with CFTs sort of attain the range necessary, but the basic model is too multidimensional now its become anything but simple.

The F-35A is not remotely a step in that direction.

The problem with the loss of an engine is compounded when you lose electrical power. It sounds like most of the twins only generate power from one of the engines, which would make the statistic for lower losses compared to single engine fighters being roughly at a 1:4 ratio even more amazing.

Has anything been developing with the L-15?

Looks like a Kfir. And what kind of M2K HUD is it?