Sweden confirmed the sale of 22 Saab JAS 39 “Gripen” fighter jets to Switzerland in a deal worth more than 3 billion Swiss francs or $3.1 billion.
“The negotiations were tough,” said Swiss representative Christian Catrina, to the TT news agency.
The first delivery of these next-generation Gripen E/F “Super JAS” fighters is expected to occur in mid-2018.
The sale has been controversial. Swiss officials had rated the Gripen lower than its competitors, the French Rafale and the Eurofighter “Typhoon.” But the Swedish plane is substantially cheaper than the other options, and that appears to have been a major factor in the purchase.
iz says
The Gripen rated below Eurofighter and Rafale was the Gripen C/D made available during trials. The aircraft on offer being the Gripen E/F which at the time was available as a demonstrator only. This detail was conveniently not mentioned by Dassault when they leaked a two year old report to the media right after the Swiss decision had been announced. That leaked report has since been a major part of the controvercy surrounding the deal.
Whether the Gripen E/F will prove to perform better or worse than Rafale and Eurofighter, or in what areas, I can not say. But one has to admit that Dassault’s actions this far has in no way inspired confidence in their ethics.