Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2009 23:06:48 GMT 12
Hi all
Thought the following might be of interest.
Analysis: Why 2009 could be the year of the Gripen
By Craig Caffrey
06 November 2008
The next 18 months will see Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, India, the
Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Switzerland make final selections for
their respective fighter procurement competitions, with sales of up to
523 aircraft worth at least USD35 billion-USD40 billion at stake.
It will be a truly crucial period in shaping the future of the global
fighter market.
The common link between these eight contests is the presence of the Saab
Gripen in the bidding process. So far the Gripen's success in the export
market has been limited, with contracts for 60 aircraft in place across
the Czech Republic (14), Hungary (14), South Africa (26) and Thailand
(6). Saab hopes, and Jane's Defence Forecasts believes, that the next 18
months may see this number increase significantly.
Competition is fierce to fill these eight national requirements, with
the following among the Gripen's competitors in the various contests:
Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; Dassault's Rafale; the Eurofighter
Typhoon; Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II;
and RAC MiG's MiG-35.
Jane's believes the Gripen team has reasons for optimism, however.
First of all, in terms of the aircraft's capability, Saab is offering
its enhanced Gripen NG (Next Generation) variant for the Brazilian,
Danish, Dutch, Indian and Norwegian requirements, which incorporates a
number of significant improvements over the baseline Gripen C/D. These
enhancements include: an active electronically scanned array radar
developed in conjunctionwith Thales (due to begin flight testing in
2009); General Electric F-414G engines, which provide increased thrust
and maximum take-off weight; additional weapons stores; enhanced
avionics and electronic warfare capabilities; and increased range.
These new capabilities are currently being developed through the Gripen
Demonstrator programme, which was approved by Sweden's Defence Materiel
Administration (FMV) in October 2007 and unveiled the following April.
According to Saab, further enhancements will be rolled out in three-year
increments, to enable continuous development of the platform over the
life of the programme and removing the need for comprehensive and
expensive mid-life upgrade programmes. Development and incorporation of
specific customer-funded requirements is also envisaged as part of a
50-year programme plan.
While currently in the developmental stage, the Gripen NG programme
would be accelerated in the event of a contract win and the aircraft
would be available to enter service from 2014.
With regard to cost, the Gripen NG is viewed by Jane's as competitive in
terms of both acquisition and through-life support costs when compared
to its rivals. Bob Kemp, sales and marketing director for Gripen
International, citing figures produced for the Dutch fighter contest,
said Saab believes that the Gripen NG, as part of an 85-aircraft fleet,
would cost EUR6 billion (USD7.6 billion) less than the F-35 in terms of
life-cycle costs over a 30-year period.
*At a unit cost of between USD50 million andUSD60 million, the Gripen
also offers the lowest-cost platform in terms of acquisition
expenditure. By comparison, according to Fiscal Year 2009 US Air Force
(USAF) and US Navy (USN) budgetary documentation, the unit costs of the
F-35 and F/A-18E/F are USD83.1 million and USD82.7 million respectively. *
Unsurprisingly in such a competitive market, each of the contenders in
these fighter contests has its strengths and weaknesses and much will
depend on the specific circumstances, priorities and requirements of the
customer nations. As such, some contests are better suited to the Gripen
proposal than others, particularly in Europe.
The Gripen NG programme is currently in the developmental stage
Thought the following might be of interest.
Analysis: Why 2009 could be the year of the Gripen
By Craig Caffrey
06 November 2008
The next 18 months will see Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, India, the
Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Switzerland make final selections for
their respective fighter procurement competitions, with sales of up to
523 aircraft worth at least USD35 billion-USD40 billion at stake.
It will be a truly crucial period in shaping the future of the global
fighter market.
The common link between these eight contests is the presence of the Saab
Gripen in the bidding process. So far the Gripen's success in the export
market has been limited, with contracts for 60 aircraft in place across
the Czech Republic (14), Hungary (14), South Africa (26) and Thailand
(6). Saab hopes, and Jane's Defence Forecasts believes, that the next 18
months may see this number increase significantly.
Competition is fierce to fill these eight national requirements, with
the following among the Gripen's competitors in the various contests:
Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; Dassault's Rafale; the Eurofighter
Typhoon; Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35 Lightning II;
and RAC MiG's MiG-35.
Jane's believes the Gripen team has reasons for optimism, however.
First of all, in terms of the aircraft's capability, Saab is offering
its enhanced Gripen NG (Next Generation) variant for the Brazilian,
Danish, Dutch, Indian and Norwegian requirements, which incorporates a
number of significant improvements over the baseline Gripen C/D. These
enhancements include: an active electronically scanned array radar
developed in conjunctionwith Thales (due to begin flight testing in
2009); General Electric F-414G engines, which provide increased thrust
and maximum take-off weight; additional weapons stores; enhanced
avionics and electronic warfare capabilities; and increased range.
These new capabilities are currently being developed through the Gripen
Demonstrator programme, which was approved by Sweden's Defence Materiel
Administration (FMV) in October 2007 and unveiled the following April.
According to Saab, further enhancements will be rolled out in three-year
increments, to enable continuous development of the platform over the
life of the programme and removing the need for comprehensive and
expensive mid-life upgrade programmes. Development and incorporation of
specific customer-funded requirements is also envisaged as part of a
50-year programme plan.
While currently in the developmental stage, the Gripen NG programme
would be accelerated in the event of a contract win and the aircraft
would be available to enter service from 2014.
With regard to cost, the Gripen NG is viewed by Jane's as competitive in
terms of both acquisition and through-life support costs when compared
to its rivals. Bob Kemp, sales and marketing director for Gripen
International, citing figures produced for the Dutch fighter contest,
said Saab believes that the Gripen NG, as part of an 85-aircraft fleet,
would cost EUR6 billion (USD7.6 billion) less than the F-35 in terms of
life-cycle costs over a 30-year period.
*At a unit cost of between USD50 million andUSD60 million, the Gripen
also offers the lowest-cost platform in terms of acquisition
expenditure. By comparison, according to Fiscal Year 2009 US Air Force
(USAF) and US Navy (USN) budgetary documentation, the unit costs of the
F-35 and F/A-18E/F are USD83.1 million and USD82.7 million respectively. *
Unsurprisingly in such a competitive market, each of the contenders in
these fighter contests has its strengths and weaknesses and much will
depend on the specific circumstances, priorities and requirements of the
customer nations. As such, some contests are better suited to the Gripen
proposal than others, particularly in Europe.
The Gripen NG programme is currently in the developmental stage