The Gripen is a true 4th+ generation lightweight fighter and significantly more capable than category competitors like the F-16 and Mirage 2000, though the MiG-35 may give it a run for the money because of the Zhuk AESA radar and extreme maneuverability and agility.Grippen electronic suite is higly complex and effective.In the last Red flag exercise Gripen surprised Red force aircrafts with the electronic suite. Other strengths include a wide choice o
f integrated weapons and pods; reasonable purchase cost; the fact that it has also been designed for exceptional cost of ownership; and the ability operate from roads instead of runways if necessary. It has colour cockpit displays, an On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) and in-flight refuelling capability. The electronic suite contains Ericsson PS-05 long-range multi-purpose pulse Doppler radar which has air-to air operating modes covering long-range search, multi-target track-while-scan, multiple priority target tracking, air combat quick search modes, raid assessment and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile mid-course updates.The air-to-surface modes include long-range search/target identification, multiple priority target tracking, high-resolution, real beam mapping, air-to-surface ranging and Doppler Beam Sharpening (DBS).The aircraft is equipped with a Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor and will have the Saab IR-Otis Infrared Search and Track system (IRST). The JAS-39’s drawbacks include its short range; the fact it’s a new aircraft type for the IAF; and a low volume of international orders to date that raises questions about the platform’s ability to modernize over the next 30-40 years. The fact that it is build by a country which does not have considerable air combat experience is also making it hard to pitch against giants like Lockheed, Boeing, Dassault and MiG.As an interesting side note, the JAS-39 A-D models’ use of a modified GE F404 engine indicates that it could be modifiable to use India’s Kaveri engine. After all, the Tejas LCA will also use F404 engines until Kaveri is ready as a substitute, if indeed it ever is. The next-generation Gripen Demo model Saab is now offering prospective customers uses the GE F414G engine as its base, however, and is likely to need a higher level of engine performance than the existing Kaveri project can deliver. Gripen Demo also begins to address the aircraft’s range limitations, and would include an AESA radar among its other enhancements.
With respect to industrial offsets, Saab usually handles industrial offsets via its automotive group, which could represent either a difficulty or a market opportunity for the company. The Gripen’s acceptance carries no spin-off geopolitical benefits, however, and that last weakness may prove to be the plane’s most critical hindrance in this competition.
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