Anybody but US companies would have a steep learning curve — OTOH the F-22 first flew in 1997… if we assume Japan/UK is 25 years behind then they should soon be ready to start building something comparable? Or are they more than 25 years behind?

Of course they would have a much steeper learning curve. LO is no magic dust, principles are known, computing power is excessively available, tolerances are being kept much tighter in other industries without any problems.. it’s only a bunch of wannabe fanboys who love to think otherwise because it suits their narrative..

The real problem is lack of political will and funding.. Japan was more than willing to buy some F-22s for say $150mil a pop in 2008, but they would be hesitant to spend ~$60 billion just to learn how to design and make something comparable, in order to finally get like 100 pieces, without any export potential.. Such investment simply doesn’t make sense. There is only as much as you can do with a defense budget totaling $41 bil annually.

We should also keep in mind that building a VLO a/c is probably simpler today than it was 25 years ago, due to the overall improvements in materials technology etc.

Of course.. everything is simpler.. you get a few 5-axis CNC machines and can make every part possible with precision far exceeding any LO requirements.. where’s the rocket science?

Experience.

Experience with stealth? Exactly what experience it is?

Nobody has seriously said that Sweden (or Russia, china, etc) would not eventually be able to build a VLO platform. We have only stated that to automatically assume that they will be able to out-do (or even match) what LM has been able to do (with 45+ years of experience, both developmental and operational) is, as they say in court, “assuming facts not in evidence”.

Of course they could out-do the LM.. it only depends on the requirements.. if Sweden suddenly placed an order for 250 twin-engine air superiority stealth fighters worth $70 billion, then SAAB would outperform even the F-22.. well, they would probably have to import the F119s and cooperate with Thales or Selex on a new 2,000+ TRM AESA, but the rest they could pretty much do by themselves..

Given the fact that they can’t reliably assemble even a Rafale together I wonder about the “technology” bit.. This looks like another typical Indian procurement.. lotsa requirements, changing conditions, extreme tailoring, modest competence and empty pockets.. it would be nice if India joined the Turkish-British program, that would help the thing to appear on the market roughly in 2040, if not later.. 🙂

There is a possibility that the non-nuclear explosives would detonate upon impact with the ground, resulting in contaminated area (few sq km depending on altitude). A major nuclear explosion resulting from impact is, however, rather unlikely.. but it also depends on what part of the arming procedure has already been completed by the time of the shotdown.. I think it would be quite easy to program the warhead to detonate automatically once a missile failure/breakdown is detected while over hostile terrain.. maybe they even do it that way.. I don’t think there is much open talk about these things..

You are proposing adding internal weapons bays to a Gripen? Even by your standards…

I don’t have to.. SAAB have done the work for me, already..

More rage… I stated a simple fact, stealth requires a variety of technologies and materials that simply aren’t needed in a 4th generation design… experience is valuable. No need to send your blood pressure through the roof.

More arrogance and poor judgement.. You have not stated a fact, just an opinion.. The fact is that the F-35 and F-22 are technologically 15 years apart but the latter is not visibly better, rather worse.. if Sweden reworked Gripen’s airframe to stealth principles (careful front shaping, internal weapons bay, edge alignment, zig zags…) and applied kgs of the best commercial RAM available, the outcome would end up in the F-35’s league, even using 90s technologies… of course, the bird would suffer from shorther range, less payload, less survivalability from the rear.. but it would be a viable 5th gen aircraft.. many manufacturing concepts, assembly and tooling techniques used by Lockheed for the JSF are not required for a program of a scale of Gripen or Rafale…

Omani Typhoon