m.ileduets,
Seems like an interesting Hi/Lo mix of F-18’s and F-5’s you got there. How many Tigers have you got in Switzerland? Do they play a different role than the Hornets, or are they used for the same kind of tasks?

Google: “rental jets eh?”
Nothing new. USAF (or “Rent-a-wreck”) has been throwing F-16’s at anyone, if they want them or not. Ask the Czechs, eventhough they didn’t succeed in that particular case…

Seems like a smart solution.

But I reckon that I’ve read somewhere that the Austrian pilots have flown Viggens at F-21 Lulea, Sweden, for quite a while. Now since Sweden obviously is going to withdraw the Viggens – wouldn’t it be smarter to hire these aircraft for a couple of years? I mean they wouldn’t have to learn to fly a completely new aircraft type and by looking at what kind of deal Hungary got, it would probably be cheap.

Or is it the Swedish/Austrian realationship that is kind of deep frozen after the Gripen lost in the tender?

Distiller wrote:

That’s why there is a capability gap between the U.S. forces and European forces. Because European politicians never give any money to keep their armed forces in shape, unless the enemy is knocking at their backdoor (see Falklands, Gulfwar 1, Balkans – it happens every time); but with todays long and complex development process that is not a realistic schedule.

Or you could put it this way:
When Europe upgrades their armed forces – there’s a short term need for it.
When US upgrades their armed forces – there’s no short term need for it.
So how do the US motivate their upgrades of the armed forces? Well go figure, they end up in a conflict every fifth year or so…

Castor