| Yes, there is an international version called Gripen C/D and it uses Jakt (Hunt): Robot 74 Sidewinder, Robot 99 AMRAAM , Robot 98 IRIS-T, Auto-cannon Mauser 27 mm Attack: Bomb GBU-49 Paveway II, Bomb GBU-12 Paveway II, Robot 75 Maverick, Robot 15F , Auto-cannon Mauser 27 mm. In fact JAS 39 Gripen is a very attractive plane for many NATO countries, as it has a lower cost of flight hours at 7800 USD per hour compared to 43000 USD per hour for the F35. Cost per unit is lower as well at 45 million USD per flight package compared to 180 Million. its STOL feature is highly sought after by NATO as it is designed to land and take off from normal highways and paved roads. All it needs is 500m to take off and 600m to land. Sure the F35 can do the same on 182eters or just do a VTOL, but at a cost that gives you 4 Gripen. Not all countries can afford to buy or even fly F35. NATO countries already using SAAb JAS Gripen 39:
- Hungary
- UK
- Iceland (via Czech Republic)
- Czech Republic NATO Country that want it:
- Türkiye (In fact, since the US denied F35 and F16 upgrade packages, and Sweden wanted to join NATO, this desire to buy planes has been used in the negotiations to let Sweden join NATO by Erdogan) https://ac.nato.int/search?q=Gripen
https://www.saab.com/newsroom/stories/2020/august/why-gripen...
https://aviatia.net/saab-gripen-vs-f-35-lightning-ii/ So is JAS better than F35?
No, not just looking at the specs on paper. But it is competitive at a price point that is very attractive. |