I don't get it either, the Gripen is short range, last time i checked, there was a lot of land in South Africa, but hey they may like them, anyone know of any comments by SA pilots/commanders?
Currently, the single 2 seat Gripen delivered to the SAAF is used for qualification testing and some development testing specific to the SAAF configuration. It will be a while before they are fully operational in the SAAF.
The Gripen actually has a pretty good range (longer than you would expect for its size), although the actual range for different configurations like most of the performance numbers of the aircraft is sensitive and not published. It is more than adequate to perform its mission and considerably better than on previous SAAF fighters. Furthermore, export Gripens have in flight refuelling capability which takes care of the occasional very long range/endurance mission.
The aircraft also promises very low maintenance and operating costs, which is particularly important for any air force operating on a peace-time budget. That point also excites pilots because it means higher operational availability and more flight hours per year per pilot. In general, the feeling inside the SAAF seems to be very positive and the majority of those that have flown the aircraft or who are closely involved with it seems to believe that it was the right choice. I think the only other realistic alternative was the Mirage 2000, but since the decision was made to go for Gripen, many of the Mirage proponents have also changed their minds in favour of Gripen. Of course, only time will tell how it is going to perform on squadron level in a representative African operational environment.
For whatever reason, I sometimes get the impression the public perception as well as the perception of aviation enthusiasts only exposed to what is made public is much more negative than those actually dealing with the aircraft. I heard it is a similar situation in Sweden where the public keep pointing out the four Gripens lost so far in accidents, forgetting that 4 crashes (no fatalities) on an aircraft that first flew in the late 80's is actually a pretty good safety record...
