Swedish defence contractor Saab has been slammed over claims of attempting to influence a referendum in Switzerland that could determine whether or not the Swiss air force purchases 22 new JAS Gripen fighter jets.

Swiss Social Democratic MP Evi Allemann claims that Saab has been quietly financing campaigners in favour of the deal, worth an estimated 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.47 billion).

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/151031/saab-faulted-for-meddling-in-swiss-gripen-vote.html

What’s the Swedish for “Oh! S**t!”

The IAF’s deputy chief of air staff (DCAS), its top procurement official, declared the FGFA’s engine was unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered, India’s work share too low, and that the fighter’s price would be exorbitant by the time it enters service.

I think there is the reason..

Difficult for India’s development work share to be much when the T-50 is already designed and flying.

The F5 fleet?

Nice answer 😮

As a matter of fact, people aren’t voting on the acquisition itself, but Swiss have to approve or reject the way it will be financed (taking 300 mio a year from the budget army for the Gripen fund for 10 years, which you normally can’t do). Yet the left parties are telling everyone that money would be better spend elsewhere (which might be true), but rejecting the Gripen doesn’t mean that money would be automatically spend in other areas, since it is from the army’s budget. On the other hand, the 3 billions of economic compensation invested in the local industry would be very welcome.

Interesting to learn that the funds will come from the army’s budget. What is going to be cut back to release 300 million a year to be spent on Gripen instead? It will be interesting to hear since I see Denmark having to make cuts in the Danish forces if it chooses to buy F-35.

I guess the Swiss government will be stressing the offsets available to try to sell the Gripen proposal to its citizens.