Grand Danois
Entertainer
First a little off topic on cost, risk and the Danish acquisition of fighters.
SAAB offered 48 GNG at a fly-away @ 60 million USD per unit. More than twice the cost of the last Gripen C/D to roll off the production line for SWAF. Indication that the GNG cannot be considered a direct extension of the Gripen production run.
The offer for Denmark is 160 million USD per unit 30 yr LCC. What upgrades that are included are not known beyond the usual software upgrades. This and the expected small airframe numbers constitute the commercial risk. And of course the extra kit needed like targeting pods. The NATO countries gear up for tier one combat, dense IADS, PAK-FA class opposition. In this environment GNG will need heavy upgrading.
A correction: 24 is not the likely purchase number for Denmark. 48 is the unofficial requirement, 38-42 is the expected and 24 is the negotiating position of a major opposition party.
And now on topic, but with reference to above: Sth America is not gearing up for heavy duty work in the near-medium future, so the GNG suffer much less from the uncertainties pertaining to aforementioned environment, e.g. the few S-300 and Flankers Venezuela may operate, taking a lot of the commercial risk out of the equation.
The cheaper cost is lucrative, but maybe more importantly, Sweden could have the best potential for industrial/technology partnering, being more willing to partner up on JVs and technology sharing.
SAAB offered 48 GNG at a fly-away @ 60 million USD per unit. More than twice the cost of the last Gripen C/D to roll off the production line for SWAF. Indication that the GNG cannot be considered a direct extension of the Gripen production run.
The offer for Denmark is 160 million USD per unit 30 yr LCC. What upgrades that are included are not known beyond the usual software upgrades. This and the expected small airframe numbers constitute the commercial risk. And of course the extra kit needed like targeting pods. The NATO countries gear up for tier one combat, dense IADS, PAK-FA class opposition. In this environment GNG will need heavy upgrading.
A correction: 24 is not the likely purchase number for Denmark. 48 is the unofficial requirement, 38-42 is the expected and 24 is the negotiating position of a major opposition party.
And now on topic, but with reference to above: Sth America is not gearing up for heavy duty work in the near-medium future, so the GNG suffer much less from the uncertainties pertaining to aforementioned environment, e.g. the few S-300 and Flankers Venezuela may operate, taking a lot of the commercial risk out of the equation.
The cheaper cost is lucrative, but maybe more importantly, Sweden could have the best potential for industrial/technology partnering, being more willing to partner up on JVs and technology sharing.
