I have an old Janes book of fighters and I remember it rated the Gripen very high. Of course that was an old model but it looks a lot like this one.
“Of course that was an old model but it looks a lot like this one.”
Can’t go by ‘looks’ very much on late generation aircraft. Most of the Block improvements are in the form of electronics and software upgrades.
That said, naval-ized aircraft often have different features. Aside from the obvious — beefed up landing gear & and arresting hook feature — you also have changes in the wing geometry. A bigger area and a thicker wing yields better low-speed & landing characteristics. As an added bonus you have more room to store fuel.