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
That would be very expensive
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.
The answer? Yes. The solution, though? No.
The F35 is the overall more advanced platform. That’s simply a fact. But given the current state of the world, it is definitively the correct answer to the US’ new attitude.
The solution for the future however is pushing the two big fighter programs currently in development in the EU.
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.
PS: this comment is not directly against yours. Just an addition
Depends. You want 20 Gripen E/F flying or 2 F-35 ? Because that’s the difference in running costs.
Running costs are the least of your concerns when shit hits the fan. The F-35 is simply more capable, there’s really no way around it. This isn’t an issue vs Russia but against China it could be.
I fail to see a scenario where Europeans and China come into direct conflict. Even if/when China invades Taiwan I don’t see the Europeans committing to the Pacific, given the Russian threat directly at home. Therefore the only real war scenario seems to be a direct war with Russia. For this the Gripen should be solid, especially with uncertainty about the availability of some capabilities of the F-35 likely depending on US support.
