Is Sweden's Gripen fighter jet the answer to Europe's F-35 fears?
-
If EU does not start investing into its own fighter they will never have one as capable as the american ones.
We need to stop thinking in short-term solutions
Yeah but wasnt f35 a joint project between EU and america
-
Ok, and that's difficult to replicate on the Gripen?
With all the 3D gaming technology I cannot imagine that creating a 3D scene inside a helmet is so difficult that it's worth buying this superexpensive plane instead of paying mabe the price of one plane for 3 companies to develop helmets for a Gripen with some additional cameras.
The plane only has to be better than European opponents, which hopefully doesn't require being better than the F35.
The entire plane has to be redesigned from the ground up, that's what he's explaining. The F-35s are caked in sensors like a valve index. They have special paints and materials that absorb radar, making the radar profile look more like a bird than aircraft-sized hunk of metal, which is useful against Russian and Iranian anti air SAMs, the same ones taking down Ukrainian jets. But that also includes the body shape, the engine intakes (even engine blade materials), everything.
Can the Europeans create an F-35 class platform? Absolutely. But you can't just retrofit your way out of a brand new generation of plane. It's like trying to retrofit a Ford F-350 super duty to conform to Japanese Kei truck regulations and weight classes. You end up redesigning the whole thing.
-
Not for 15 years or more...
Any order of new fighter jets takes about a decade as well. If you do not have them on order already, then why order new ones, when you could buy FCAS, which is a much better system instead.
-
The entire plane has to be redesigned from the ground up, that's what he's explaining. The F-35s are caked in sensors like a valve index. They have special paints and materials that absorb radar, making the radar profile look more like a bird than aircraft-sized hunk of metal, which is useful against Russian and Iranian anti air SAMs, the same ones taking down Ukrainian jets. But that also includes the body shape, the engine intakes (even engine blade materials), everything.
Can the Europeans create an F-35 class platform? Absolutely. But you can't just retrofit your way out of a brand new generation of plane. It's like trying to retrofit a Ford F-350 super duty to conform to Japanese Kei truck regulations and weight classes. You end up redesigning the whole thing.
Your comment is mostly about the stealth properties. If the plane is for defence and stealth is not that important, is the F-35 still needed for the 3D helmet or could a Gripen be enough?
-
Micael Johansson, the CEO of Swedish company Saab, confirmed to Swedish media that Portugal and Canada are studying whether to buy the JAS 39 Gripen E/F fighter jet.
I wish my country, Germany, would cancel its F35 orders
-
Untill we see Gripens EW suite in action, we don't know how relevant stealth is.
I read a random article several years back talking about Gripen and the Eurofighter finding eachother out in the skies and the Gripen pilot turned on the EW suite, which wrecked havok on the sensors of the Eurofighter.
-
Gripen is actually very capable fighter jet with very modular design. It's not as cool looking as F-35, but makes up for it with capabilities, reliability and ease of maintenance.
The F35 looks like a fat boat, Gripen looks like a fighter plane.
-
I wish my country, Germany, would cancel its F35 orders
That would be very expensive
-
That would be very expensive
Why? What's the expensive part?
-
Why? What's the expensive part?
They have contracts. I don't know the specifics. But that can sometimes amount to 1/3 of the price if they cut the deal after agreeing to the contract.