Posted on 01/20/2008 8:48:48 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Sweden's Saab says Swiss mulling Gripen fighters
Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:25am EST
STOCKHOLM, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Swedish aerospace firm Saab (SAABb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that Switzerland was mulling buying its state-of-art Gripen fighter in a deal potentially worth billions of Swedish crowns.
Saab said that Switzerland had requested it to tender for a contract to replace its fleet of F-5 fighters around the year 2013. Saab is one of four candidates.
The Swedish firm will submit its offer in the middle of 2008 with a decision due in 2009.
"There is massive interest in Gripen right now, which confirms our strong position on the world market," Ake Svensson, Saab's chief executive said in a statement.
In addition to Switzerland, Norway has asked Saab to submit a bid for up to 48 Gripen fighters. There, Saab is competing with the American JSF fighter for the contract.
Norway will decide on which plane to buy in spring 2009 with deliveries to begin in 2015.
Denmark and India are also looking at buying Gripen fighters. (Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Paul Bolding)
Long time to keep a fighter. What did the F-5s replace - P-51s?
size-wise— is this bigger than a F16 or same/smaller?
Probably F-86s.
And Switzerland believes it needs jets because????
It’s not like they’re ever going to use them for anything. They’d get better bang for their bucks if they went with weather proofed paper mache hanger models.
It’s lighter as far as weight goes-other dimensions like wingspan are probably similar.
“Sweden’s Saab says Swiss mulling Gripen fighters”
That’s easy for you to say: to me, it’s a mouthful.
Probably ME-109s. An FW-190 accidentally landed there, early in WWII.
Hermann Goering was anxious to get it back, and Churchill's RAF wanted it.
While CH was trying to figure out how to maximize its profit, the aircraft mysteriously went up in flames one night.
And surprise, surprise, surprise, the Luftwaffe gave Switzerland half a dozen ME-109s shortly there after.
Any way, FWIW, I was in Geneva in the early 1990s, and there was graffiti opposing the purchase of F-18s at the time.
I guess they didn't buy the F-18s.
the swiss hate being called swedes and other way around so they should think twice about this.
They purchased 30 odd F-18s & are currently upgrading them for new sensors & weapons.
Are the batteries included, too?
What I wanna know is ... is this for the Swiss Air Force, or is this a prominent Bank CEO’s new private jet?
Really is a versatile aircraft.
Cheap, versitle, STOL capabilities. Good choice for the Swiss. I’d prefer them to buy the F-16 block 60, but I understand why the watchmaking bankers chose the Grippen.
Have the Swedes EVER successfully sold any previous generations of their fighters abroad?
I know they tried with the Viggen at least, but without success.
I wonder where the money *really* coming from?
The Swiss have an Air Force that includes "hangers" built into mountainsides with several blast-proof doors to protect the aircraft. The Nazis didn't invade* in WWII because the Swiss had (and still have) hardened defenses covering every mountain pass, huge Army Reserves, and the finest in small arms and other militaria.
*Operation Christmas Tree didn't happen.
Most Swiss speak several languages, but in-migration (wait-staff, maid service) is changing the country for the worst-to-come.
Basically, you're right. However, Hitler didn't invade the Swiss because he needed a foreign currency exchange.
The Draken had won a few sales & the Gripen has done rather well given the competition it gets.
It has been my life experience that the people who write graffiti aren't the ones who make or influence any decisions.
The Saab Grippen would have at least nominal engine commonality with the Swiss F/A-18Cs.
The myth of Swiss defense in WW2. The Swiss were the Nazis butt boys in every way measurable. Even allowing for war materials to be transported from Germany and southern France through Swiss territory to Italy.
Heck, we even bombed rail yards in Switzerland a time or few.
The Swiss were only neutral in name, not in deed. They didn’t get invaded by the Germans because there was no need, not because of fear of Swiss defense.
Now, update yourself to today...
Name a nation that the Swiss could defend themselves from that might actually want to invade them. The Swiss managed to do the usual european parasite backstabber games well enough to stay out from under the Sovs. Not because of their own strength, but because we decided not to let the Sovs have the Swiss.
Other than the usual modern european vanity, there’s zero reason for any european nation to spend a penny on defense.
They, all of them, lack the spine to use them. They, all of them, are too feeble, intellectually inbred and worthless to even be able to differentiate between friend and foe.
The Swiss. The degenerate scumbags that refused to honor their agreement to transfer 100 M113 APCs to the Iraqi Police forces because they “couldn’t be seen to be assisting the US in their illegal war of aggression against the peaceful peoples of Iraq.”
Screw the Swiss. They can take their neutrality, wrap it up in something sharp and jagged and shove it up in themselves until they bleed out.
The Swiss gave the Allies breaks: there are probably dozens of our aircraft whose bacon was saved by landing in Switzerland.
While you're at it, how about railing against WWII Irish neutrality?
Churchill was declined the use of an excellent Irish harbor to extend Allied escort protections against Nazi U-boat "wolf packs" and was willing to transfer all of Northern Ireland in exchange!
At least Switzerland can't claim being complicit in the massive tonnage—and Allied Merchant Marine deaths—in the very worst years fighting Nazism.
You’re right about the Irish.
My main issue with the Swiss, most of the EU and everyone else playing this game is that the civilization that they are members of is under attack, and they’re not even content with sitting on their tails. They’ve got to play obstructionist and passive aggressive back stabbing scumbags.
Weak pieces of quisling viche. As well as being snarky bags of quivering snivel.
Instead of dumping cash into aircraft they’ll never, ever, under any possible situation, have a real use for, why not put together a deployable, expeditionary capable regiment and get their worthless cowardly selves in the fight for their own survival.
Would flying jets around Switzerland be a sound idea with all those mountains? They will probably lose most of them right away, not so much by hitting mountains but by getting lost behind them and up in the formerly glaciated regions.
They had ME-109’s in the 40’s.
Interesting. I am surprised that Churchill did not give teh Irish the same offer that Salazar got regarding the use of Lajes field.
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