LokeThe Swedish government will soon place a structured offer to India to push through the Gripen-NG fighter aircraft deal, a product of Swedish defence major Saab, which is also keen to develop production processes in India. Sweden offered the Gripen-NG deal to India when a high-powered Swedish trade delegation visited the country in February this year.
The structured offer could comprise a combination of technology transfer and setting up of a local facility in India to produce aircraft coupled with investment commitments, an Indian embassy official in Sweden said, adding that Saab has already prepared a blueprint for the Indian Air Force’s entire defence system. The IAF pilots are likely to take a test flying of Gripen, a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft, by the end of this year.
Indian media are highly unreliable — it will be interesting to see if there are any Indian officials present on May 18, that should give an indication on whether this rumor is true or false.
LokeThe NGJ could be particularly helpful when it comes to protecting fighter aircraft and stealth platforms like the B-2 bomber, now-in-development Long Range Strike-Bomber and the F-35 multi-role stealth fighter. The technology is designed to block, jam, thwart or “blind” enemy radar systems such as ground-based integrated air defenses – so as to allow attack aircraft to enter a target area, conduct strikes and then safely exit.
This is useful in today’s modern environment because radar-evading stealth configurations, by themselves, are no longer as dominant or effective against current and emerging air-defense technologies.
Today’s modern air defenses, such as the Russian-made S-300 and multi-function S-400 surface-to-air missiles, will increasingly be able to detect stealth aircraft at longer distances and on a wider range of frequencies. Today’s most cutting edge systems, and those being engineered for the future, use much faster computer processors, use more digital technology and network more to one another.
“Multi-function radars become much more difficult because you have a single radar source that is doing almost everything with phased array capability. However, with the increased power of the next-generation jammer we can go after those,” Winston said.
“It is a constant cat and mouse game between the shooter and the strike aircraft. We develop stealth and they develop counter-stealth technologies. We then counter it with increased jamming capabilities.”
The F-35 will perhaps be easier to detect in the not-to-distant future than some F-35 fanboys want us to believe?
LokeThe Ministry of Law & Justice has made certain observations and the same will be taken into account while finalising the Inter-Governmental Agreement [IGA], which is still under negotiation,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. However he did not elaborate on the observations.
Mr. Parrikar said negotiations on the terms and conditions, including the total cost, actual delivery timelines and guarantee period have not been concluded.
This disclosure comes at a time when the two countries are locked in tough negotiations over price and officials said they were hopeful of concluding the IGA in a few months.
Seems like a never-ending story…!
LokeAtech Negocios has been chosen to produce simulators, training systems and ground support systems for the Gripen NG multirole fighter being produced for the Brazilian Air Force.
The programme was signed between Saab and the Brazilian Federal Government (Ministry of Defense through the Aeronautics Command, COMAER) in October 2014.
As part of this programme, several new fundamental systems and capabilities are flight tested and demonstrated for Gripen NG.
These new systems and capabilities will also form the basis for further upgrades of the current Gripen C/D fleet, Saab said on its website.
Saab Brazil Gripen programme director Mikael Franzén said: “Saab and Atech enter into a partnership regarding the development simulators, training systems and ground support systems for Gripen NG.
LokeThe cost estimate for 52 Norwegian F-35 with equipment (but excluding operational costs) is currently 70 billion NOK (8.7 billion USD).
LokeYes it’s estimated 100 billion Danish NOKs for 28 a/c, but for 40 years it seems.
http://www.fyens.dk/indland/Medie-om-flyvalg-Ekspertgruppe-peger-entydigt-paa-F-35/artikel/2986169
Seems rather “cheap” to me; Norway expects to pay 261 billion NOK (210 billion Danish; 32.43 billion USD) for 52; however as the number increases, the unit price should drop since the base costs are in general independent of the number of a/c. Instead it seems the cost per unit is estimated to 550 million USD in Denmark and 624 million USD in Norway.
LokeOn May 18 we’re bringing the first of the next generation Gripen to stage at our aeronautical HQ in Linköping, Sweden. It’s a key milestone in the evolution of the smart fighter. It will be covered live on gripen.com but if you prefer to experience it on site, here’s what you have to do. Tag your favourite Gripen images with #Gripenevolution on Instagram, no later than 2 May and keep your fingers crossed that your image will take you to the exclusive Gripen event in Linköping 18 May.
How it works
When you have tagged your photo/s with #Gripenevolution on Instagram your photo has entered the competition. At the closing date, 2/5/2016 the winner will be drawn out of the entries and get an exclusive visit to the Gripen event at Linköping 18 May.
Read more: http://saab.com/air/gripen-fighter-system/gripen/gripen/gripen-x-tra/Evolution-contest/
A pity I am not on “instagram”.
LokeOn the topic of Gripen aircraft computer system; from a Saab slide:
IMA is a shared set of flexible, reusable, and interoperable
hardware and software resources that, when integrated, form
a platform that provides services, designed and verified to a
defined set of safety and performance requirements, to host
applications performing aircraft functions.Apart from Gripen, there are IMA
systems also in Lockheed Martin F-22
and F-35, Dassault Aviation Rafale,
and Airbus A350 and A380.
LokeWashington (CNN)Sen. John McCain slammed the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s troubled history Tuesday, saying it “has been both a scandal and a tragedy with respect to cost, schedule and performance.”
The development of the Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth-generation stealth jet, has been beset by spiraling costs and schedule delays. The program’s price tag is nearly $400 billion for 2,457 planes — almost twice the initial estimate.
McCain, an Arizona Republican, called the cost overruns “disgraceful” and noted that the F-35 program had originally promised 1,013 fighters by fiscal year 2016 but had only delivered 179.
McCain added that the plane’s delays meant that “the last F-35 will be delivered in 2040,” and given that potential adversaries like China and Russia were investing in modern aircraft technology, he said he “cannot fathom how this strategy makes any sense.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/26/politics/f-35-delay-air-force/
LokeIndia in Talks With Sweden Over New Fighter Jet Upgrade
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Saab are holding talks over jointly upgrading the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft
Read more: http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/india-in-talks-with-sweden-over-new-fighter-jet-upgrade/
LokeQuick, quick, a Gripen on top of my Pizza, please.
Sound weird, no? Not quite the same procurement process, would you think so?
Who talked about procurement? Gripen C/D is operational in Sweden (and Thailand, Hungary, South Africa, Czheckia) today; Gripen C/D with Meteor is operational (in Sweden) today.
Or are you referring to procurement of PAK FA and J-20? Yes, that will indeed take a long time, however first they need to finalize development.
LokeA NATO-observed trial took place over Pratica di Mare air base, near Rome, during which Finmeccanica’s Mode 5 reverse-IFF system was integrated on board Tranche 1 aircraft. It simulated interrogating Italian army vehicles for friendly signal emissions which, once verified, ensured the fighter held off from firing at allied forces.
IFF systems are typically used to verify the threat from other aircraft by sending out an interrogation signal and requesting the pilot respond. The reversed system interrogates ground forces, and is named as such because it uses the transponder usually employed to reply to interrogations to scan the ground for threats.
In February, it was also announced that Saab Gripen NGs destined for Sweden and Brazil will benefit from the IFF system, under a 96-unit order to be delivered over a five-year period from 2017.
which probably explains this:
System testing of the antenna has taken place at a dedicated facility at Arborgu in Sweden, and the IFF has also gone through initial integration and qualification testing, says Bruce Wigg, campaign manager, Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems division.
The transponder being provided for Gripen – the Mode 5 M428 – is also being offered to the UK Ministry of Defence for a NATO requirement for a new standard of IFF, although Wigg could not say which platforms this includes.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/singapore-new-iff-system-ordered-for-gripen-ng-421914/
Loke90 billion for 60 Gripen E including operational costs? Do you have a source for that number?
LokeWith the McDonnell Douglas/BAE VA.2 (EAV-8B Harrier II/Plus) jump jets used aboard the country’s aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I due to be phased out between 2025 and 2027, the “only option open to us” as a replacement is the Lockheed Martin F-35, according to Admiral Jaime Muñoz-Delgado Diaz del Rio. “But because we were not a member from the start, that signifies having to pay more for it,” he said.
http://www.janes.com/article/59745/spanish-navy-struggling-to-fund-new-aircraft-buys
LokeIt seems Finland will go for slightly above 40 a/c. It makes no sense to split such a small number on two different types.
If they can afford 40+ F-35, then most likely they will go for the F-35; If they cannot afford the F-35 then the choice is really between the SH and the Gripen E. I dont’ see them going for F-16 after operating the Hornet for such a long time. If the F-35 becomes too expensive then the F-15, Typhoon and Rafale will probably also be too expensive.
My guess is that they will drop the F-15, and probably also the Typhoon and Rafale when they go to the RFP. However there may also be a risk that they also drop the F-16 and even the Gripen E; not because of the cost of course but because 40+ F-16/Gripen E may not offer sufficient capabilities. Sweden concluded they needed a minimum of 60, and preferrably 80 Gripen E. In such a scenario it would really be between the F-35 and the SH.
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