swedish aircraft giant

Swedish Aircraft Giant - The Gripen E is a decent and affordable fighter, but manufacturer Saab is struggling to find customers

Saab has launched the latest version of its high-tech Gripen fighter jet. But despite being equal to its rivals – and in many ways even better – the new version of the E will have to overcome serious political and economic flaws to win sales.

Swedish Aircraft Giant

On May 18, the Swedish defense contractor debuted the updated aircraft during a flashy press conference at its Linköping plant, where it assembles the planes. The company said it already has contracts with the Swedish and Brazilian air forces for nearly 100 aircraft.

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"Let's explain what Saab is announcing here today," the firm's head of aeronautics, Ulf Nilsson, triumphantly declared at the start of his speech. "We are changing the way the Air Force thinks, flies and fights for decades to come."

Claiming that the effects of the Gripen E will be felt "for centuries", Nilsson detailed the refinements to Saab's design, which is now nearly 30 years old. Compared to earlier versions, the Gripen E can fly faster and further, with more fuel and weapons and equipped with advanced equipment.

Equipped with a single American-made General Electric F414G engine, the fighter can cruise for long periods at twice the speed of sound. Almost 50 feet tall, it can rise to more than 52,000 feet...if necessary. With forward-mounted miniature "duck" wings and an advanced on-board computer, the Gripen is highly maneuverable in aerial combat and when evading ground-launched anti-aircraft missiles.

The powerful Italian made ES-05 Raven radar is an active type with electronic scanning. Unlike older sensors, the Raven has dozens of small antennas to quickly find and track multiple targets at once.

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To aid in the fight against hidden opponents, the Gripen E has a built-in heat target sensor. A long-range camera can pick up focal points from more stealth aircraft that can be difficult to spot on a radar screen. Under the right conditions, the equipment can also detect aircraft, helicopters, warships and vehicles on the ground.

The new aircraft have advanced electronic countermeasures, as well as illumination lights to protect against enemy jets and surface-to-air missiles.

Described as an "intelligent fighter", high-tech radios and data links transmit critical information to and from the cockpit. Like apps on a smartphone, Saab says software and hardware can be quickly swapped out to meet specific customer needs.

Once pilots locate their targets using on-board systems, they can choose from a range of weapons loaded onto 10 mounting points on the wings and fuselage. Saab is demonstrating its ability to configure the Gripen E for a variety of missiles, bombs, targeting and spy pods and other payloads from around the world.

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At the May press conference, the Gripen shown on stage carried long-range and short-range air-to-air missiles, including five MBDA meteors. The European manufacturer used the Saab jet as the primary test platform for the weapon, which is claimed to fly four times the speed of sound and can hit targets nearly 190 miles away.

For ground targets, Saab demonstrated an aircraft carrying eight small diameter GPS-guided bombs. A German-made 27 mm gun was installed in the aircraft cabin.

"In this business, we're used to hearing a lot of words thrown around and big demands for small steps, or even no progress at all," Nilsson said at the start of his presentation. a not-so-subtle dig at the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. "It [Gripen E] is the only fighter program on time and on budget," he later added.

With these characteristics, the Gripen E represents an alternative to Western designs such as the latest versions of the American F-16 and F-18, the French Rafale and the Anglo-German-Italian Eurofighter. It's certainly cheaper, faster and easier to fly than Lockheed's long-delayed F-35, and more importantly, it's affordable

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According to Saab, the fighter is a realistic opponent to current designs such as the Russian Su-27 family and Chinese J-11 clones. Nilsson said that decades of "one of the most advanced adversaries" - an apparent reference to the Kremlin's military - were incorporated into the Gripen E's overall design.

Unfortunately, Nielsen's confidence cannot shake the real and significant obstacles the Gripen E faces on the open market. And after more than half a century of building military aircraft, Saab is well aware of these challenges.

During the 1960s, the Swedish firm had moderate success selling its Draken fighter to Austria, Denmark and Finland. In the 1970s, Saab did not find buyers for the new Viggen. All Draken operators eventually replaced the aircraft with F-16s and F-18s.

Since its first flight in 1988, the Gripen has competed against many of the same types. The Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa and Thailand have selected Gripens for their air forces. But Saab could not get so many contracts.

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In particular, in 2011 India decided to use the French Rafale instead of the Gripen, despite the plans of the Swedish company in partnership with the local giant Tata Group.

In each of these cases, the biggest challenges for the Gripen are not related to the capabilities or even the cost of the aircraft. The main problems are related to

In many cases, this requires those countries to sign any final agreement. Not only that, Gripen's design is based on a US-made engine. The United States has historically not helped foreign companies compete with American defense contractors.

While Saab built the jet specifically to easily replace radars, radios and other equipment, the company has several options when it comes to power plants. As European turbine manufacturers have already benefited from the sales of competing fighter jets, European turbine manufacturers are likely to be slow to offer their services.

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In addition, the United States, Russia and China regularly offer their friends large military aid packages that benefit domestic companies. Even with the full weight of the Swedish government behind them, Saab will probably struggle to get anything

Despite Nielsen's real attacks on the F-35, nearly a dozen countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia plan to buy the American stealth fighter -

Gripen. While Canada plans to reconsider its decision to buy the F-35, Ottawa says it will likely consider the Joint Strike Fighter.

Given the concern that the stealth jet would upset the balance of power in certain areas, the Pentagon was only too happy to try to get other countries to buy the advanced F-15, F-16 and F-18. Moscow, Beijing and several European countries are pushing their wares with the same eagerness.

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There is one customer in line to buy the latest Gripen — Brazil. Brazil plans to acquire nearly 30 Gripen E, as well as nearly 10 similar two-seat Gripen F. "[This] is an important milestone in the history of both countries." Brig Gen. This was announced through an interpreter by the senior officer of the Brazilian Air Force Nivaldo Luis Rosato, who was invited by the Saab company to speak at the press conference.

Rosato declined to name the dramatic political upheaval in his country. On May 12, Brazilian senators voted to begin impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff and put Vice President Michel Temer in charge pending the conclusion of the trial. Brazilian authorities are also investigating her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on corruption charges.

It is not yet clear what this could mean for sales of the flagship Gripen E. Whatever happens, Brazilian pilots do not expect to receive the fighters until 2019 at the earliest.

Elsewhere, the Swedish firm is still struggling to break into larger markets. In 2015, after India cut its contract for French Rafales, Saab again proposed a partnership to get New Delhi to renegotiate the deal.

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Indian authorities, which are struggling to field their own domestic fighter jet, have not yet made a decision on whether to buy the Swedish jets. The Pentagon's plans to expand cooperation with South Asia's largest democracy - including joint production of the C-130 transport aircraft - could reverse the plan.

"With the Gripen you get something more," emphasized Nilsson. "Industrial cooperation has always been part of Saab's strategy. We don't see it as a threat."

Unfortunately for Saab and its well-engineered fighter jet, others in the high-tech military combat aircraft market, including those that

The world's best air-to-air missile is in Sweden. Gripen fighters were the first to receive the new Meteor missile

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From drones to AKs, high tech to low politics, explore how and why we fight over, on and under an angry world. This turns out to be an interesting development for Indian Army and arms enthusiasts. India signs a deal to import Swedish defense technology during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Stockholm this week. The transfer of technology will take place if the Swedish defense company Saab decides to build fighter jets in the country.

It began on April 16 and marked the first visit in 30 years by an Indian prime minister to the Scandinavian country, known for such well-known brands as Ikea and Skype. Sweden hopes to improve trade and commercial ties with India. In addition to this agreement, both countries will work on an action plan promoting innovation partnership.

Saab promised a complete transfer of Gripen-E fighter technology

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