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Gripens for Four Nations Now in Production
A huge sigh of relief must have echoed around Linköping on Monday, June 14, when the long-awaited contract to supply Gripens to the Czech Air Force was finally signed. Back in 2002 an order from the Czech Republic was a done deal until the great floods of 2003 derailed those plans and the Czech requirement was re-opened to a whole new round of bidding. No longer looking for new aircraft, the Czech Air Force examined competing bids for surplus jets from Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States—and Sweden.
Against a background of unrelenting political pressure from the U.S., the national budget committee recommended a leasing agreement from Gripen International as the best option. Although that news emerged in December 2003, there followed another six nervous months of negotiations before the contract was finally signed at a ceremony in Prague. With this deal sealed, the Czech Republic becomes the third international customer and the second NATO air force and first export user for the Gripen.
Today there are jets for four nations on the Gripen production line. Work for Sweden's own Flygvapnet continues, as deliveries of the latest standard JAS 39C and (two-seat) JAS 39D Gripens progress. Alongside them, the first aircraft for South Africa and Hungary are taking shape. They are now being joined by the Gripens destined for the Czech Republic.
The first to emerge will be Hungary's first Gripen, a single-seater that is due to enter its final check-out phase in September. Hungary has contracted to acquire 14 aircraft on a 10-year lease. These Gripens will be a mix of former-Swedish JAS 39As (10) and JAS 39Bs (two). Each one is undergoing a major upgrade and rebuild that will bring them up to C/D standard (with air-to-air refueling capability, large screen full color cockpit and further advanced missions systems). The engines, wing sections, radars and some other systems from the original aircraft are being mated with new-build fuselage sections. The result is an aircraft that provides all the mission capability of the JAS 39C/D, but is still accommodated within Hungary's original contract for A/B Gripens. Deliveries to Hungary will begin in 2006.
The lead Gripen for South Africa, a two-seater, will emerge into daylight during January 2005. This aircraft will be transferred to South Africa for a 12-month period of flight test and systems development work—in advance of the rest of the SAAF's deliveries.
The Czech batch of 14 jets comprises 10 new-build JAS 39Cs and two JAS 39Ds that are now surplus to Swedish requirements. Like the Hungarian Gripens, they are covered by a 10-year leasing and support arrangement, in a government-to-government contract together with Saab, Gripen International and the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV). After modification to meet national requirements, deliveries will begin in April 2005.
The Gripen team is still awaiting a final decision in Brazil's long-running FX-BR competition. Confirmation of Brazil's choice for an initial batch of 12 new fighters, worth around €567 million ($700 million), has been expected since early this year. While the authorities there remain outwardly committed to the program, a worsening budget situation now threatens to shelve, or even kill, FX-BR.
During June and July the Gripen found itself the subject of intensive reporting in the Pakistani press, confidently predicting an order for up to 60 Gripens for the Pakistan air force. Welcome as any deal of such magnitude might be, the reports are all utterly groundless—Brazil remains the only prospect for good news on the horizon. While Gripen International is watching over the emerging Swiss requirement and has received some positive (if unofficial) signals from Norwegian politicians now disenchanted with the Joint Strike Fighter, for the time being there are no more imminent sales or requirements to keep the lights burning late into the Swedish night. Gripen International is at Chalet A35-36 and OE12.
—Robert Hewson
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