Austria looks for new fighter as Eurofighter retirement looms.

Eurofighter: These Are the Potential Successors

They are looking at lower performance fighters with economic operating costs. Basically supersonic air policing fighters. The best fit would be the golden eagles, in TA-50 and FA-50 guise for both training and operational duties.

FC-31 model @ Paris airshow 2017

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So the reality remains that the Gripen E is still an expensive low performance alternative to a brand new F-16 or F/A-18.

So most of its advertised performance cannot be performed at the same time. Supercruise only when it is very cold and lightly loaded. Full weapons load only with very low fuel quantity. Full fuel only when lightly loaded with weapons. So it is much better just to get a new F-16 rather than something like this.

Manpower cost?

Those indonesian f-16 are refurbished and upgraded by USAF in Ogden AFB, and i dont think america pay their servicemen there in rupiah…

How did for almost similar cost Indonesia could manage to get 24 used F-16s, while Bulgaria is only offered 8?

From the Belgian Air Combat Capability document

“” Level of Ambition
The level of ambition for the future Belgian air combat capability is to be able to
simultaneously
– guarantee Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) / Air Policing duties with 2 aircraft (24/7) – in an
alternating rotation regime with the Royal Netherlands Air Force
and
– contribute air power to expeditionary operations for a sustained period of undetermined
duration with 6 multi-role aircraft. “”

Could the 2 level of ambition be satisfied by different aircrafts?

Probably for the QRA a low cost supersonic aircraft that could also double as a LIFT. Partial replacement of F-16 and alpha jet missions. 2 squadron of 16 aircrafts perhaps? Something from the T-X competition, Gripen C/D or the KAI golden eagles?

For the expeditionary operations a common fighter with the allies (F-35?). 6 aircraft deployed would need a minimum fleet of 18 of such fighters?

Would this be a more cost effective route rather than a homogeneous new fighter fleet of 34 aircraft?

Because the F-35A is only offered to a group of nations that are allied (or pretty much alligned) with the USA, and at least for now, delivering that particular aircraft to an airforce who happens to work with some chaps called “Sukhoi” is a big “no-no”?

Cheers

That airforce belongs to a country that is currntly having a very frosty relation to the country those “sukhoi” chaps are from due to its airline shot down over Ukraine remember?