NGAD? We already tick every box...
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- SAAB gave me the opportunity to speak about the JAS-39 Gripen with two knowledgeable, hands on, persons who know the aircraft inside and out.
And a few very interesting, and so far not known, points came up.
A big thank you to Saab and the interviewees for this great conversation!
Enjoy!
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I appreciate the dedication of all 3 of you for holding this talk in English, I can tell it wasn't the easiest thing for anyone but the effort has certainly payed off, it's very neat to get to hear from the engineers, who aren't often heard from themselves, and a real treat to hear it in my own language! Major thanks 🙏
I mean… I don’t think holding it in Swedish and Italian would’ve been any easier.
I’d say the average Swede speaks better English than the average American. (I’m American btw).
@@andrewwelch5017 I think we Swedes and good at the grammar and stuff but lack the accent and also things that you can only learn by talking to people in those countries. But yes Swedes are sufficiently good to talk about most things in English.
@@thurbine2411 Your comment says otherwise, I do not believe you.
@@Kenny-yl9pc another commenter who doesn’t feel the need to expand on his statements
Videos Like THIS are why this is literally the first thing I do on my day off. I watch the weekly update TWICE
I sav it for the prime of my day along with Perun
Same.
It's a fantastic channel !!
That’s right SAAB you did make a sixth gen fighter and we’re going to put it right here on the fridge so everybody can see it
Very interesting, I learned a lot.
I respect the way they go, that's what patriotism is to me, pragmatism and high dedication as a '' team '', for your team.
I am imagining that for Canada, the best solution would have been an F-35A / Gripen E mix. Great video as usual. Thank you
With the contract as written, F35 was the correct choice.
Agreed. I am an American.
That’s too expensive
I completely agree. If only influence and cost were not the top 2 factors in the decisions. (Without these factors I would have liked to have seen 60+ of each aircraft. F35 for nato obligations and Gripen E for Canadian operations) Canada has to update almost everything in the military right now so the maintenance of the f35 is going to be enough trouble.
Yes, flight hour on the F35 is extremely costly. I hope the Canadian tax payers has a lot of money to put into F35 or there will be no training, just a show piece.
Gripen flies with almost no maintenance. Canada has locked themselves in to a very expensive plane.
Good to know that you are as intrigued/obsessed with the Gripen and the Swedish way of doing things as I am. Long live creative, innovative asymmetry!
Amen to that!
Amen to that!
Guess who isn't obsessed with the Gripen and never have been? The Swedish Air Force.
Speaking of assymetry, Justin Bronk and two others recently wrote a report on which western fighter that would work best in Ukraine. Their conclusion is the JAS 39 Gripen C/D because it is much better for rough field operations than something like the F16. Here is their report, page 39-40: static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Air-War-Ukraine-web-final.pdf
I like the Gripen, but I prefer the French Rafale.
Both planes are very good, but one is a bit more polyvalent in my view, and has seen a bit more combat operations.
Very good interview. Thank you. The Swedes looked a bit miffed over the relative commercial failure of the Gripen E, and understandably so. MArketing has many rules however and performance/cost is not the only one, especially when pitted against geopolitical pressures between different tiers of allies (which is mildly saying that choices are sometimes forced).
It would seem that the Grippen fighter program is a company wide Skunk Works project with particular emphasis on Kelly's Rules #3: "The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems)."
I guess you kind of have to when you have a national population just under 10.5 million.
I've been wondering, between Millennium *7 and Chris from Military Aviation History, I've been seeing a lot of Gripen recently. Maybe they're doing a renewed publicity push?
Amazing accomplishment from Swedish industry. Great interview talking with the experts on the Gripen; love how plainspoken these guys are.
However, F-16 Block 70 costs $63million; F-35 lowest price $86million. Gripen would be by far the least cost to operate. Would the cost come down if they got 200 orders? Will the Embraer ones cost less than the ones built in Linköping?
In other words if it wasn’t for the US Government forcing countries to buy the F35 the Gripen E would have a better chance to sell.
@@mitchjames9350 In some cases yes. Obviously not just the Gripen, but other aircraft as well.Mind, "forcing" doesn't mean open severe pressure or threats. It's indirect pressure which sometimes involves collusion, others corruption (bribes etc) and in some other cases the procurements are linked with other perks, benefits or services.
Well, if you are small you have to be creative and not fight the enemy where he is strong. Good video as always, best channel for tech nerds like me.
I guess the next time Sweden actually gets into a fight we might find out .. or they could speed up deliveries & integration of the new Es into service and send 24 of their legacy C/Ds to Ukraine where they'd get tested in actual combat and perhaps earn some much needed validation/ credibility that might help Saab/ Sweden actually sell some of their fighters on the international market - which in turn would provide some cash for Sweden to buy more Es .. a virtuous circle one would think.
There are a lot of countries reluctant to provide 'offensive' weapons, but weapons are both - and the temerity/ reluctance of the European allies in particular (save Germany) seems to be dissipating so now might be the time for a bold move. I'm thinking the US and EU could put together a compensation package to help fund the Gripen transfer and again - that could be used to pay for more Es and/or completing the 12-14 unfinished Gripen C/D 'shells' currently sitting in some Swedish warehouse. Seems like it'd be a win-win ..
@@brodieboy3 Well, for some reason the F-16 group choose to delay transfer of Gripens to Ukraine.. The claimed reason was that it would be to complicated for Ukraine to have more than 1 new aircraft introduced... a few days later France said the would send Mirage 2000... Adds up perfectly, right?..🤔
Came across a Saab software engineer specialising in systems fault analysis during an oil and gas exposition. She was outstanding and it was as if an alien intelligence had visited an aboriginal race. However, that wasn’t difficult in the early offshore oil and gas business….
What I always find interesting about Gripen is how does it have such a big EW/sensor suite in such a small single-engined airframe. Military aviation electronics are limited by electrical power which in turn is related to engine size. I can't figure how they do it without having a large aircraft. Must be Swedish magic.
Maybe this is a bad analogy, I don't know, but for some reason, Americans feel the need to use a 2 or 3 L engine to drive 110 km/h on the highway, while Japanese designs achieve the same performance with an engine twice as small. A smarter approach may result in less space or power required.
From what limited info is out there the new EW pod and system is leading edge technology. And it does need less energy than the legacy systems. The f35 should be able to outrange the ew capabilities of the Gripen because of its higher energy capabilities obviously. That doesn't mean the Gripens system isn't extremely capable in today's world.
@@chm985 plus the F-35's is integrated and doesn't require a pod. The Gripen tech is pretty cool tho
@@jpierce2l33t agreed.
These are different types of electronic warfare. There are a whole host of types of electronic warfare and different methods of achieving the desired effect. Systems like the rafale and Gripen use are designed to massively reduce the range they can be detected at while other systems try to jam the enemy's radar directly. EW is a large complex field, and its progression is anything but linear.
Very interesting video. Thanks for posting it! I really think that the Gripen is among the most flexible and modern fighters today, at a reasonable cost. Seeing the smart functionality of the Viggen, with lots of automation and functions to offload the pilot, I can imagine that the Gripen system is even more pilot centric. It will be interesting to see how the E-variant develops in the future. Keep up the great work you do to bring us these videos!
the "this is not sponsored by SAAB" got me good XD
Sweden is not America, and that are we happy about. None of these guys was paid.
Excellent video. Swedes always had top fighter planes but for me, SAAB Draken was still an aerodynamic masterpiece and my favorite.
There is nothing wrong with the Dragon, I have seen (heard) it doing a show over Oresund between Malmoe and Copenhagen. It was until today one of the best shows I ever have seen. And the sound was out of this world!
@@donquixote1502 Wrong? Blending intake into the delta wing is a unique idea never seen before, and it works perfectly. Simple elegant and maneuverable, ideal fighter.
@@kakavdedatakavunuk8516 it’s not perfect. It was excellent for the time, but not even unique to the Draken. The US had been doing that in its aircraft since the 40’s.
If it were perfect, the Viggen and Gripen would be using it right now.
@@kakavdedatakavunuk8516 blending the intake into a delta wing unique? Have you seen the Vulcan bomber?
@@paulqueripel3493 Only Thunderchief and Voodoo have some similarities with Draken but the arrow wing. Vulcan and Victor have completely different wings from Draken. My point is that they made a unique type of strake (with an inlet) combined with a delta wing to create something that is known as a double-delta.
360 degree IR - didn’t know that, very cool! Great interview
Bravo another interesting video, I like the attitude of doing things their way, it means any adversary who's developed tactics and systems to beat the systems of more ubiquitous western aircraft (F35 say) would need a bespoke solution to beat the Gripen. Like your video on the IAF inventory, this is a dilemma for an enemy that could have a beneficial and multiplying effect for allies as well as Sweden in joint operations.
A video I was not expecting and interview with SAAB engineer and pilot! A surprise to be sure but a welcome one.
The Swedes are smart in their thinking and engineering to make the Gripen what it is. What they created and with what is truly something of note, it is unfortunate that the Lightning II has simply become so dominant with what the American's can bring to the table.
Nonetheless the Swedes have the last laugh in how their flexible development system is something the American's are trying very hard to emulate.
“Something the Americans are trying very hard to emulate” citation needed
@@jb76489 About the 15 minute mark the engineer and pilot discuss open architecture and distributed sensing which the Grippen has had for over a decade while it is just being introduced on the F-35. Also the 'over the shoulder' sensors which according to the Saab people the Grippen E is the only plane to have that capability.
@@longshot7601 oh wow, the Saab reps say saabs product is the best thing ever, you don’t say
@@jb76489 Look it up. The Grippen had distributed sensors and datalinks from about 2012 or 2013. In 2020 they participated in Red Flag at Nellis AFB where they were beasts. Rumors were that they gave the F-22s and F-35s fits. They had appeared at Red Flag in '08 and '12 where they surprised many opposing pilots.
The F-35 is still getting it's software act together. Maybe it will soon be a mature system.
@@longshot7601 you made the claims, you back it up
“I don’t understand the point of war games and I don’t let my ignorance stop me” godbless the unwarranted confidence of the stupid, you guys are great
Thank you all 3 of you for sharing on this fascinating aircraft.
Gripen is most likely the best solution for the vast majority of countries however the problem is that Lockheed Martin is a Goliath backed up by even bigger Goliath (USA). Concurrently the buyers of the aircraft are not aviation/tech geeks but rather more interested in the payoff to them the aircraft purchase will bring. Thank you for doing an excellent job SAAB/Sweden, sorry for not getting more sales due to stupidity/corruption by the purchasers.
ära till Sverige!!!
glória ao Brasil!!!
may the collaboration between SAAB and Embraer be fruitful for the both of us!
Thanks Gus ... though, I think it's optimistic to assume they "differentiate from the US via E-Stealth"
As the US clearly does both as well. Ignoring the F35, the F-111 Raven, EA-18, etc. (Which I'd
I am amazed there was this much information released.
One of the things that impressed me about this plane is the turn around and it electric warfare suit the sensor suit in general is impressive
It took the Royal Air Force less than a day to defeat the Gripen's EW suit. Then the Gripen was back to being an underpowered point defence fighter. The Typhoon has little trouble with it and most Western Air Forces consider it an easy kill.
Yes I know it will have no hope against the USA but how will it do against planes it would actually fight Russian Chinese etc
@@dat581right, that must be why Germany choose to use SAAB's EW system for it's EW Typhoon.. I guess next you're going to explain to us that ignorace is bliss...😅
@@leifiseland1218 " I guess next you're going to explain to us that ignorace is bliss"
You seem to live by that, whatever ignorace is.
The Germans are notoriously cheap when equipping their aircraft so what do you expect.
@@dat581 😂😂😂😂
The aircraft is ok. But it's key advantage is logistics. If an insurgency had an air force, it'd buy the Gripen.
actually one of the least braindead comments i've seen. The F35 is easier to maintain since it has like an onboard health sensor for every single part so you'd always know what to replace when, but the gripen only has like 5 part so you dont need to buy that many parts
The F-35 Logistic System is a big advantage during maintenance.
@@fuckoff4705 And we have all seen what this has given us in the car industry.
@@fuckoff4705 huh nah the gripen is way easier to maintain
@@fuckoff4705 So does Gripen, Rafale....
I am one of a huge fans of Gripen fighter because of its characteristics, small - looks weak but very lethal, smart and highly reliable omnirole and easy to maintain & always battle ready.
Very insightful interview. I didn't know a lot about the differences between the Gripen E and the older models, and assumed it was just a slightly more souped-up 4th gen fighter.
Most people do.
I see Gripen E as a new platform with all its systems and all the high tech functions of the future but built in to a well known, well performing "body of arodynamic".
One can not redesign architecture and integrate only newly designed system. That will juat end up like the American JSF. A very good platform but plaged by delays and issues. The Program simply took a high risk and the risk played out. They will for sure make it but they will have to pay for it in money, life and time. They already have to a large extent.
The…American JSF that’s beaten out the Gripen in every competition they’ve both been in? Hmmmm
my favorite Swedish tech company (and automotive globally) is Koenigsegg - also small company thinking outside of the box. Love the "EW stealth" instead physical-shape and RAM coating, also the upgradability
"EW stealth" is what the French call active cancellation : one component of EW warfare. It's also on the Rafale with its Spectra, but not a lot of reliable information are available in English (only because the English speaking geeks are so afraid of it that they don't share the data they could have... XD)
@@stitch77100 It's as if they forgot that the US have been using growlers for this very purpose.
@Mats O indeed, albeit in a different way. (Growler is a "brute force" EW, with a lot of power. Spectra is more a "specific EW for each Rafale", less powerful but adjusted for discretion and deception)
@@stitch77100 It detects where the signal (wave) is coming and sends opposite one in that direction right?
@Robert Balu as far as I know, it is something like this, yes : it detects and analyzes the waves received, and emits an adjusted response to deceive the radar. Some say it can even modulate its answer to appear as something else (it would just be a different modulation of amplitude and frequency)
For example, to appear as a massive threat, or a different type of response. But this can not be confirmed yet and I'm not sure if this offers real operational application at the moment.
It obviously has it drawbacks, but it's a different approach than the one used by the Growler
This is exactly what I have always wanted to see from Saab and the perfect content from you. Also loved the finnishing commebt from you. Reminding us all of the vias from employees. Also I very much share your facination with gripen and with swedish products in general. Many nations that have limited resorces try to find ways atound it and the result can often be totaly out sid of the box. Thanks!
Great work, very comprehensive yet concise.
@saab Now invite Tom Cruise for a test flight.
Now this is why I sub to this channel. Absolutely brilliant video. I learned so much from it. The fact that it was done in English as mentioned below was very much appreciated. I know you gave thanks to SAAB for their participation, I would also like to give my thanks to them also. Once again, excellent video, cheers to everyone involved, cheers to you and cheers to all your subs.
Bravo! This is a real hallmark for your channel. Thank you for another fascinating video about aviation, and about the Gripen in particular.
Always fascinated by the Gripen since the day of the first flight. It looked like something of an underdog in the "eurocanard" arena, but really it comes out as the most interesting of them, along with the Rafale. Even better in some regards, maybe. Fantastic aircraft, important especially for what it means: that with a strong will, even a small country can do something outstanding, and this doesn't apply only on warfare and fighter jets.
As a fan of SAAB it’s clear to me they are basically begging for sales. This video has that sort of vibe and I’ve even noticed a lot of pro Gripen troll accounts in the last couple of years across forums and video content. SAAB certainly punches way above their weight and I very much respect their viewpoints even if I think some are exaggerated or framed in a disingenuous way to highlight false superiorities. Ultimately, I hope Sweden can maintain their indigenous design and manufacturing of aircraft as the landscape of defense greatly morphs over the next several decades.
Rather than “begging for sales” I think they are just very proud of what they have built. If you interview an engineer from whichever big project like this, they will speak with this kind of pride. There are many areas which Saab were first. I don’t think they’re saying that the Gripen is best at anything, just that it has its firsts, its strengths, its accomplishments. Just as any other plane.
This is a very good fighter but I’m sorry not even close to what the NGAD will be 😂
Lol, the Saab marketers are still at it.
The Gripen is the best fighter in the world.
No, we can’t explain why it keeps placing last in every fighter competition and no one wants to buy it.
It’s apparently because America have forced their political will over everyone. Also they’re dumb but full of master strategy, such a strange paradox. As a person who doesn’t root for nations including my own as if it were a football team it’s hard to watch all of the cognitive dissonance without a pounding headache.
Acquisitions are not a great measure of technical merit. Politics is the bigger factor. A whole lot of countries want to ride American dick
Gripen is built for certain circumstances. It is terrific COMPLEMENT to other eurocanards. For Asia, Canada it is short legged.
You can hear from the way Mr. Halmetoja speaks of the enthusiasm he has about the capabilities of the latest Gripen. I've always thought of the Gripen as a very robust and capable platform, but I can imagine that it has so much more to offer and he himself almost can't help talking about if time permitted.
Even if the Gripen C/D is the most cost effective fighter around and integrated with very capable systems (Meteor missile), it still has a lackluster range, payload, and very strict Swedish Government to deal with.
As for the E/F variant, it is very capable no doubt (even to the Viper Block 70/72), but it still suffer from its inadequacies (range and payload), strict Swedish government, and high procurement cost even than the F-35s (although it's way cheaper to maintain and operate).
Gripen is really capable despite its size, but it will be more successful if it doesn't have a strict government to deal with and would be a perfect point defense fighter for smaller countries. Just imagine if the ROCAF (Taiwan) was equipped with Gripen C/Ds instead of the harder to maintain Mirages, it's also a perfect replacement for their old F-5E/Fs.
That's looking at it the wrong way around. Its designed to other constraints against which its competitors perform very poorly. If you persist in deciding that its criteria are unimportant then it can never score high for you. And conversely if you accepted its criteria then the other aircraft would not score highly.
@@timmurphy5541 You have to look at the history of the E/F variant. Swedish government was not going to buy it if they don't get an foreign buyer. They only got the foreign buyer aka Brazil because of politico reason. The F-18E beat Gripen in the fly off on the first place. It just a little bigger Gripen C/D but cost about the same as F-35. It not that cheap of an fighter for it size.
@@jimc1654 ... because Brazil doesn't have an austere operating requirement really? It's going to be interesting to see how sustainable the F-16 is even, in an environment where 70 cruise missiles enter a country every couple of weeks and 10-15 hit. FOD on the runway?
Additionally I think that having meteor is important.
While I've always been a huge fan of the Gipen, the title does kind of throw me. NGAD comparison?
Here are the boxes you need to check.
Super cruise.
1500 NM range.
Advance electronic warfare package.
Stealth.
Ability to control drone fighters.
It's not that I don't think the Gripen compares to what they are trying to do. No fighter in existence does. I don't think the NGAD project can even be called a fighter. More like an advanced air warfare platform. I will nit be surprised if it's completely incapable of dog fighting.
Gripen can fly, F 35 can't, it crashes every month! 😄
@@jackstreet6979 that is a ridiculous statement that has nothing to do with the subject.
@@jackstreet6979 somehow f35 can even dominate a f22 😄 whats ur statement to that?
Doesn’t have the range NGAD will have. Can’t carry the payload NGAD will carry.Can’t supercruise at the speeds NGAD will. Doesn’t have the multi aspect stealth that NGAD will. Doesn’t have the directed energy weapons NGAD will.
Their argument about putting advanced software inside an existing airframe is great……..but why not just do that to an airframe that has better aerodynamic and range and overall stealth. The gripen design is limiting the potential performance of these amazing systems they keep bragging about.
And you are a American deskpilot, right? You can't stand that Gripen is better than the outdated Ford Edsel style fighter that you have. 😄
Great interview and even better insights. Thank you!
Thank you M7* for this video, also a big thanks for the pilot and engineer from SAAB. Please make video interviews with other aircraft/military manufacturers. (Preferably with the engineers and operators).
Excellent video. While the two Swedes had to beat around the bush/deep truth, for obvious reasons, they somehow made already known things more clear.
The Brits in their Typhoons, which also have impressive electronic suites, said that the Gripens did not always get close to them - in fact, according to the Brits, it was only on occasions - but when they did they got awfully close. This suggests that as always, there are two sides to each golden coin, and the supreme push-a-button-and don't-care weapon has not been invented.
A very nice video again.
1:41 no money is exchanged; just a new Gripen in his garage.
I wish...😂
Hahahaahahahahaha, best joke today 👍👏
@@Millennium7HistoryTech many of us would be green with envy! 😂😂
@@Millennium7HistoryTech I have a question sir!!!
Sweden being comparatively smaller economy than France, Germany, Japan stuck in a hostile environment and worries about its sovereignty, why don't they focus on development of SAMs like Israel.. Isn't it more feasible and economical ??
@@nishantshrivastava9674 I'm not a defence planer but swden expect an invasion from the sea hence gripen is very good at air to sea sinking any invasion fleet. So Sam defenc is not priorities
Wow love the production quality. Truly professional. Thank you for the wonderful interview
Another great video, thanks to all
Outstanding content! Again! Thank you.
Great episode. Gripen is such an amazing aircraft and great to hear some of the inside story.
Absolutely loved this, wish it was longer the Gripen is so fascinating
Next thing I'm buying is a Grippen or two!
Absolutely mind blowing a hole new way of how fly tactically. The power of electronics to allow you to get situational awareness on your flight and places unknown is amazing.
All this done by a small country like Sweden 🇸🇪 well they should be proud of there achievements. To be in there own right a leader in there craft through aviation and electronic in hardware and software.
Well Done Sweden 🇸🇪 😊
Thankyou for bringing this to us fascinating this .
Great video, keep up the great work!
There's interesting material online regarding Saab's adoption of Scrum/Agile processes for the development of the Gripen. Worth getting into if you want to know more about how quickly they can develop/test/deploy.
Check the dates of those paper...
It is not new for SAAB
The Gripen is essentially the 21st Century F-5 Freedom Fighter. In fact with Sweden now in NATO, I could see projects with US Aircraft manufactures and SAAB (this would also allow Gripens to US systems, if not making Gripen's very plug and play) for the US to push the Gripen as a new Freedom Fighter. Meaning US firms helping to build and subsidizing purchases of Gripens to nations like Philippians, Taiwan and Ukraine. As only first world nations can afford the cost of maintaining 5th gen aircraft, while now most nations can afford maintaining 4 gen ++. But what makes the Gripen so attractive in end its low maintenance and resources required for deployment.
I think that the price of the gripen E is not much cheaper than the f-35 per unit, but it is very likely much cheaper per flight hour. It is probably the most important value in combat and training, the ability to fly without a huge bill.
Adopt Cessnas then
F35 prices fluctuates very wildly depending on the country adopting it. For instance, Germany just paid 8.4bn for 35 F35's, which comes to 240m per aircraft, vs Canada that bought 88 for 14bn at 159m per aircraft. For most countries the Grippen will be much cheaper.
I think you have a man crush on Gripen :)
He is not alone...
So, what I heard was very much in line with the “death of stealth”. Multiple fighters in the general area can emit coded pulses of VHF or UHF, and go only from timing to estimate a range sphere, combining instantaneous position and time allow a position solution. Need a fast comms links between all platforms and each platform can calculate its own solution, and target appropriately.
very resourceful of sweden and saab to develop the gripen, it's a fine airplane. the problem with it is there are only 270 or so out there between all the variants and owners.
As a Swede i am very proud of our defence industry!
And you should be. I'm French, and we take Swedish materials and equipment very seriously, and look at the Swedish force with high regards and respect. Your doctrine and way of thinking the military as a whole resonates with us and we feel like we are both in the same mindset about sovereignty and cooperation.
@@stitch77100 We think French also make good/excellent equipment although expensive.
fabulous video about a fascinating Aircraft.
Great discussion !!
Yes they may be able to pick up stealth, but a target lock? If stealth in plan form was not important why are so many countries collectively spending hundreds of billions into it, the KF-21 great example. Gripen a great 4+ aircraft for certain but still like the F-15ex, it was born 4th gen. They certainly punch above their weight, helps when the engine is already developed. Gripen has its place in the air for sure, a Hi-Lo mix has been proven to be a good idea. Great Content as always 👍
A 'target lock' as traditionally defined is probably going to become less important than it has historically been. A semi-active seeker head on a missile can get a decent location on a target in the wavelengths stealth is not good at, even if the source radar cannot get a proper lock or detect any return. Occasional ranging data from the source radar and a more accurate direction and speed from it's own sensor (which it can then feed back to the illumination radar) can give a position that gets more accurate as the missile gets close. It is hard to get close enough for a hit, but not too hard to get to a position where an EOTS or IR sensor can get it's own terminal track.
The dismissal of stealth on cost grounds is a bit misleading. Stealth is computationally intensive to develop, and historically that has meant absurdly expensive. Now it does not. My graphics card could probably run all the calculations needed to develop the B2 in a single night, so when building a new aircraft there is absolutely no excuse not to have good stealth geometry.
Just what they told You, if You missed it?, someone else will shoot You in the ass! You share info and the one in best position will fire Your weapons.
Target lock yes, structural stealth have a propaganda value which is much higher than the tactical, for Sweden who is to only fight an advanced enemy. USA never fight advanced enemies. The engine was mostly developed on Sweden, but the core in USA
This is also where electronic warfare comes in. SAAB has double down on that bit. But other nations are also evolving their capability in that area.
In the end, it is about pros can cons and working with the tools you got. SAAB is also working on project where geometry stealth matters. Both nEuron and BAE Systems Tempest has SAAB involvement (though in the latter case we are not sure of how much. But Sweden is looking ahead in to the future.)
Note that focusing on stealth geometry to the deterrent of everything else can not only be too costly when we talk about development cost. But also capability. You will be really good at that one thing and not much else. That is what you have with the old F-117. But we have improved a lot since then. So a lot of the sacrifices we made in the same of stealth are less of a sacrifice now. They're ways where you can mitigate the issues you get in to. But it still a balance of pros and cons. What you sacrifice in aerodynamic performance for stealth, you could have got something else. And if you make no sacrifice at all when it comes to the capabilities. You get a huge airframe that cost insane amounts of money to build and operate. People tend to focus too much on one feature when it comes to aeroplanes, rather then looking at the whole package. In the past, it was often speed or manoeuvrability. Later stealth. But the best aircraft are often the one that has a wide array of useful features, that combined make for a complete package. And of course it matters also how well it fits for the armed force that are going to use it. Not everyone has the same needs. (Though making an aircraft that is has a wider audience also has it benefits of course, as you can produce more of that airframe and overall costs, even here it a matter of pros and cons)
@@guygabriel6251 yep that's how it works, just like that, yeah I watched it, they are salesmen for the airplane remember. Watch new Ward Carroll interview with F-22 and F-15ex pilot and about how the integration of these platforms works, or as much as he can say without divulging classified information. Ck it out really, I found it just as interesting as this one. Cheers.
Been a fan of Swedish design forever.. Draaken, Viggen... Killem 🤯🤣💕 'em 👍
The icing on the cake is that attention to details, fit and finish is flawless.
@Phillip Banes Even a casual look at Russian aircraft will show that by comparison they look like the skins were bashed out with a hammer and attached with nails The Russian inability to build aircraft with precision fitted skins is one reason they haven't been able to build a true stealth aircraft. The Gripen shows superior attention to integration of the details not seen on many other aircraft.
This could be a great marketing tool for Saab/Gripen.
I’m very impressed by the content.
While I wouldn’t call it equivalent to NGAD, I would say it is an impressive aircraft, and the dedication to maintaining a localized military industrial basis is vital.
Yes. Actually, my interpretation was that they didn’t say it was an equivalent. Just that the requirements set up for NGAD matches the Saab design philosophy.
@@davedeville6540 it was cute by them saying that they tick every box of NGAD
@@lars9966 Yes. However, it would be interesting to see what Saab would design given the US NGAD budget.
@@davedeville6540 Resking Gripen in composites, redesing edges, canopy like in F-16/F-22, variable cycle engine, thrust vectoring....
Gripen is built smart to be cost-effective but without sacrificing its lethality or quality. Maybe in other countries, the prize had been more "maximized for profit"🤔🤔
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to hear what professionals have to say. As a Swede, I can guarantee that these guys did not blow-up Gripens abilities, probably the opposite.
We are very proud of SAAB in Sweden, everything they build is among the best regardless if it is a fighter jet, a submarine, or a Corvette.
Thank you for making this vlog ❤
Is that why every country chose the F-35? lmao
The F-35 beats the Grippen in everything but cost, but it's absolutely no match for it, not even 10 vs 1
@@RazorsharpLT it might lose in “cost” but wins in value
Even if the Gripen C/D is the most cost effective fighter around and integrated with very capable systems (Meteor missile), it still has a lackluster range, payload, and very strict Swedish Government to deal with.
As for the E/F variant, it is very capable no doubt (even to the Viper Block 70/72), but it still suffer from its inadequacies (range and payload), strict Swedish government, and high procurement cost even than the F-35s (although it's way cheaper to maintain and operate).
Gripen is really capable despite its size, but it will be more successful if it doesn't have a strict government to deal with and would be a perfect point defense fighter for smaller countries. Jusy imagine if the ROCAF was equipped with Gripen C/Ds instead of the harder to maintain Mirages, it's also a perfect replacement to their old F-5E/Fs.
@@RazorsharpLT F-35 actually beats the Gripen in purchase cost, but it's way more expensive to maintain over time.
@@RazorsharpLT Nae, you are a typical American, in your world is everything about America the best! The truth eludes you. I don´t know why you write about the F-35, I too think it´s a fantastic fighter, but the difference and capabilities are much smaller than you think between the Gripen and the F-35.
I'd like to see SAAB do a VTOL, though I suppose that's a weight problem.
You are, indeed, a gentleman.
Well, that ends the debate I had some time ago at this chanel. Gripen is doing and integrating it’s shit like the F35.
Thank You! ❤
I agree with the logic and reasoning given the fact that they had to work within the limited confines of the swedish defence budget which is amazing in and of itself, but I think stealth isn't a binary thing ( a stealth aircraft with a jammer is always going to be more effective than a non-stealth aircraft with the same jammer especially due to the fact that they can get much closer), the difference mainly lies in the doctrines of war itself (the Americans for examples aspire to move and act with impunity over enemy sovereign territory)/Sweden on the other hand wants to keep the enemy at bay by adopting the hornets nest analogy which is mostly defensive, so different doctrines will produce different aircraft, as a bonus I don't think the swedes expect to overfly kaliningrad or any other part of the russian territory for that matter
I agree with almost everything, but, with respect, there are differences in how well different EW suits work for you. Gripen uses the highly secretive EW suit developed and produced by Ericsson Saab Avionics. I don´t know how to evaluate it against other systems but it´s supposed to be extremely effective if you ask pilots from other nations.
@@donquixote1502 it's not hard to imagine given that Ericsson is already a champion in telecommunications, though I doubt it would be enough for an operator like the USAF
Maybee be its just because i love the Grippen, but i loved this video glad i found it a year later.
“While everybody else hides, we blind you”. Does that mean you become a RF point source? Somewhat like a afterburner being a IR beacon to infrared tracking. Your favorite European aircraft is not doing to well in the international market. It faces stiff competition with Brazil being it’s only buyer. Do you really expect us to believe a mid to low cost fourth generation fighter can compete with NGAD?
A 4th Gen fighter that’s more expensive than an F-35... man, some boxes they are ticking!
The reason its so expensive has to do with economies of scale. Such a small country trying to produce their own fighter jet is going to be way more expensive than procuring fighters from a superpower like the US. But having your fighters produced in house comes with many benefits, if youre willing to pay the price.
It's actually the same price but I get what you are trying to say. The price would drop dramatically if there were high sales.
@@chm985 F-35 has reached sub $80M per unit, Gripen E is $85M. All things being equal, my point still stands, the prices shouldn’t be anywhere near each other, the F-35 should functionally and theoretically cost double that of the Gripen, but it’s a few million dollars cheaper. It’s why every country that’s allowed to buy them is coughing over billions of dollars to buy them. It’s the best/most advanced export fighter on the planet, and it’s cheaper than its 4th Gen competition. It’s really a no brainer for most developed non-adversarial countries. People want to hate the F-35 and pretend it’s riddled with problems and is a piece of shit, but that’s just not true. It’s a great aircraft and an even better value, comparatively speaking.
@chris davis in Canada we are a partner and just paid $85m 2 weeks ago for a large order of 88. I don't think anyone that understands aviation thinks the f35 is junk. It just costs a lot to maintain because of its technology. It does still have some issues to work through and unfortunately it's looking like it will never meet projected costs on maintenance or flight hours per year. That's a large downside but that doesn't take away what it can do. I think both aircraft have their place but saying the Gripen is more expensive just isn't true.
@@chm985 it is more expensive. $80M is less than $85M. You can’t look at what countries paid because you don’t know what is included in that price, armament, support, etc. Brazil paid $124M for their Gripens. See how that works? We’re talking about unit cost, and the unit cost of an F-35 is less expensive than the unit cost of a Gripen in 2023. That’s a fact. There no aircraft on the planet with more advanced avionics/electronics than the F-35. Of course there’s going to be “hiccups” it’s the most advanced aircraft in the world by a mile. The reason it gets the rap of “having problems” is because unlike the rest of the world, the US doesn’t lie about it’s shortcomings and they don’t exaggerate their abilities either. If you want to talk about fighter jet programs with “problems” take a look at the Su-57 and J-20. Those are real problems, not pretend ones that people on UA-cam use to diminish the F-35 program as a whole. It’s crazy how many problems they have and it’s outselling all fighter jets on the planet combined... why are all these countries buying this dysfunctional problem ridden air craft? Hmmm. All new fighter jets have problems, every fighter jet to have ever made it into production had problems, every single one. None of which were nearly as advanced or as complex as the F-35. Comparatively speaking, the F-35 has reached peak production in a relatively short time period, which is incredibly impressive. Heard a lot about how “over budget” and “late” the aircraft was, I don’t hear that now that we’re pumping out 200 of them a year at a cost of $80M per unit. Doesn’t sound very “over budget” or “problem riddled” to me. Sounds like it’s production is very streamlined and cost effective, world leading tech for cheaper than its previous generation counterparts.
Is going to make a great diference here in Brazil. They have the range and the mobility that we need.
The work on the Gripen vid was outstanding .
Thank you very much!
The Gripen E could never be called the Gripen, it's another jet fighter.
my main take away from this is that the grippen is basically the old f5 concept for the modern day. the f5 was a fantastic design. very cool.
agreed. it’s the F20 Tigershark for the 21st century that actually went into production..
I've said that a lot. Similar size, functionally the same engine, flexible combat capability. Many people dismissed the F-20 as being too small to upgrade it's avionics, but Red Force JAS-39s embarrassed the Blue Force their first time at Red Flag.
Gripen is exactly what Ukraine needs! I understand that SAAB lost out on a lot of foreign sales, maybe sending a squadron or two to fight Russians would help them in the international market.
Pay for it with your own money please.
@@rosomak8244, "Sweden’s newly appointed defense minister, Pål Jonson, started with aid to Ukraine. Days earlier, the government announced a package worth $287 million that was larger than all of its previous aid combined.
“First priority: stepping up economic, military, political and humanitarian support for Ukraine, including the transfer of more advanced weapons systems,” Jonson said Nov. 19. He added that the latest package included “air defense and winter equipment - because that’s what the Ukrainians need.”
Slava Ukraini Heroiam Slava
For 60 yrs the Baltic Sea Area East of Sweden has been the laboratory and fielding ground for the most advanced radar and EW technology...
excellent info, We Filipino's around the world is still hoping this smart & lethal fighter jet to be acquired soon by the Philippine Air Force as MRF.
As an IT professional, "no certification needed", "We can change one part without damaging the other", "All integrated", one airplane using the sensors of the other completely integrated", "seamless stealth" and so on...sounds like sooo many products and projects that are sold like this and starts because of this but at the end those are ideals, sale peachs that never come close to reality, specially on software and hardware solutions and those remains as untangeble dreams.... Specialy on "no ideal" conditions like for example those T54 soviet tanks in Syria:old, beaten to death but operating and doing the job.
Heh, I agree. There are some many projects that never reaches the goal, because they move the goal when the costs becomes too high.
It is not easy to achieve, but if you swallow the cost of developing, you can end up with something that will work that way. And it will be cheaper in the long run.
Developing the JAS wasn't cheap, a lot of people thought it was a waste of money when they could have just bought a F-16 or something pre-made. In the end they have ended up with Gripen, which does seem to live up to the goals.
I am a swede, so I've seen the headlines through the years. And I probably am a bit biased, but even so, I am still today amazed about what I find out about what SAAB does, once it gets to be public knowledge.
Against a force that doesn’t have tanks yes but tell me how did those rugged soviet T-72s fair for Iraq in 73 eastings
@@jameson1239 Probably a bit better than the US tanks did against the Talibans in Afghanistan recently.... And by that I mean, any tool is crap if you don't know how to use them correctly.
But anyway, that's besides the point...
I think they are talking about the code used in the same way as the current smart phones have already been doing for a long time , by downloading "apps" you dont need to make a new certificate all over again , since the code for the phone hasnt been altered. It would theoreticly make the gripen able to use any weapon that can fit on the wings amongst other things, these things are not publicly available though.
There are bits and prieces out there describing this architecture, and to me as another software engineer it sounds like a new concept.
Closest resemblance I know of being Functional Reactive Programming.
It's a nice 4th gen plane. You can't really say it ticks every box when it's not stealth.
You need to think diffrent when you talk about Gen 1-4. Espcially now days with the electronic developments. There i think the Gripen is 5+ Gen.....
You need to define stealth and what boxes you are talking about. Stealth can be achieved in different ways, they talk about it here. Gripen ticks every box and more due to the plans. One box is to start and land on a 5oo meters long road! Can an F-35 do that? I mean what do you mean with all the boxes?
@@kentunemo5866 5th gen is specifically designed to reduce radar signature and 6th gen will be the same. You can tell by it's shape, it's not stealth. It even has a vertical tail like the f16.
You could maybe say it's 4.5 gen... but certainly not 5th gen.
Btw, that's not a knock against the plane. Going forward, we will need non-stealth capable aircraft because stealth is expensive to operate.
One thing that might need to happen in the generation designations... is something like... gen 6a and gen 6b. One indicating stealth and the other non stealth.
It's stealthier than the Su-57 lmaoooo
We in the East have always loved Swedish military hardware. There was even a Macross cartoon that had Grippen in a major role. But with Sweden joining NATO, SAAB's days are numbered. Probably Boeing will swallow SAAB in a few years.
By necessity they have to downplay the efficacy of LO by virtue of their country’s limited resources to design and implement that technology. However LO augmented with EW still represents the pinnacle of capability and lethality.
Fantastic video! I think the distributed air base concept will be a must in the future, based on the cruise missile strikes in Ukraine. Also amazing to see what defense engineering companies can do when they don't have Uncle Sam's budget.
I’ve always heard the Gripen E as an amazing aircraft but people haven’t gone into that great of detail why. I think this explains the design philosophy great but I’d love even more details on this plane, it sounds like the best bang for your buck possible and I think Brazil made a wise choice.
It's basically just an F-16 but with modern avionics and technology. Not much else.
Use the links at the end of the vide or look for the Gripen playlist on the channel. There is a ton of content about it.
@@bob38028 Hahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaa, get a life!
@@donquixote1502 Is your username Donquixote as a reference to the spanish epic?
@@Millennium7HistoryTech oh ok thanks
More and more love Gripen! Exciting that they cn beat the competitors price and quality!
Much love for ex SAAB people! Their cars are outstanding, planes ...havent seen fight record. Big shoutout to swedish steel - and if Sweden is small country....I dont have anything to say bout that 😁🙋
Delicious. I love Gripen so much
I love the Gripen but it costs as much as the F-35A despite less tech and not being as future proof.
If you buy your planes and never fly them, ok! But normally when we talk about costs for a fighter, we talk about its lifespan costs. Compare the cost of flying for one hour. Gripen $7K and the F-35 $45K, you see...
@@donquixote1502 lolz. Sure bud.
@@donquixote1502 That’s not the price for flying an F-35 first of all. Secondly the acquisition cost and production line of the Gripen is inferior compared to Lockheed’s. And you would be buying a jet that will be obsolete in a decade or less.
The Gripen has never won against the F-35 in acquisition programs, only countries that can’t buy the F-35 might pick the Gripen up, but even there the competition is tough with the Rafale and the F-16V
@@donquixote1502 I think the F-35 is currently around $27k/hr and the Gripen E $10k
But cpfh is largely a function of labour cost.
First thing I think of Sweden is Gripen too lol. Love the plane.
Such a beautiful airplane I think. I wish Denmark would have chosen the Gripen instead of the F-35.
Amazing interview. I would love to see another one with the fighter pilot and hear his constructive criticism on other planes. I always wanted Greece to get the Gripen E, as it is perfect for its geography and military structure. It would so much better to get Gripen Es instead of upgrading our older F-16 to the latest block. Then, we'd have a big F-16 fleet, brand new Gripen E that we could operate all the time with minimal maintenance and OPEX cost, and we could have the Rafale as the top-dog for attacking or spearheading role.
Very interesting people ! Nice to see how much Sweden can do when it comes to Airplanes, Saab has definitly a great experience in electronic warfare. a shame that others europeans countries buy american planes when they can choose Gripen Rafale or Typhoon. thanks for your amazing work M7 !
@Phillip Banes two things: first this is not a good place to develop arguments so i will not Say much here about this. Let's meet on discord if you want to discuss this.
Secondly your question is purely rethorical. Why should you not shoot yourself in the foot ?
@Phillip Banes as i said : discord
@Phillip Banes because you loose your sovereignty and become dependent on the us .from what I have head the f35 is a pretty closed system , so no updates or modifications without the manufacturer. Takes away your independence
@Phillip Banes well only together euro countries can hope to compete against big bully USA .
@Phillip Banes bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla put the words "europhiles" and "obedience" + "europe" ......
american idiocracy
The YF-16 upstaging the otherwise impressive Viggen at the 1976 Paris Airshow, probably also contributed to the inspiration of the Grippen.
Gripin is a remarkable aircraft / system primarily designed as a defense system and not designed to kick down the door of a sophisticated air defence system.
It does that too. Gripen EW-suit does a lot of things, read on the Internet about the German pilot who did not detect Gripen before it was flying beside him...
@@donquixote1502 No it really can’t put out a fight against a sofisticate SAM Network, is not a dedicated Jammer aircraft like the EA-18 Growler
Is this some meme 😂
The Gripen is amazing but also overrated, it is nowhere near the level of the F-35: everything the Gripen can do the Lightning can do better, but on top of that there are numerous tasks that the Lightning can do and the Gripen simply cannot.
The closest prior aircraft to the Gripen was the Harrier series. What began as a VTOL 'reality check' evolved, in use, to provide asymmetrical qualities because of what its abilities were from early days of home squadrons, the crucial leap to the Sea Harrier's astonishing all weather combat with low maintenance to the AV-8B US Marines version and finally the GR 7A/9A which was stupidly retired and sold to the US Marine Corps for spares. The USA still flies these.
Real war conditions far away in the Falklands, in various Balkan wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan massively developed asymmetry of assets -- notably weapon versatility and closed circuit comms with other types of aircraft master-controlled by ground or air stations rather like the Swedish air men describe as being integral to the Gripen's original and evolving functions. Small size, dash speed down to apparent fall back then changes of tactics in a few seconds are more important to modern warfare than high speed and long range (especially as air refueling is routine).
While the Harriers were challenging to fly until electronics caught up the Gripen is man/machine with no need for 'stealth' as foundation because there are different sorts of stealth and more forgiving.
Because Project Tempest or cooperation with France on whatever it is finally called will take time I would suggest that a carrier version of the Gripen be acquired in the interim for the Royal Navy and near neighbors with ocean duties. BAE's stake in SAAB and many British components being already in Gripens should make this far less expensive than going entirely with the F-35C and more independent in primary software -- a contentious matter in the whole JSF 'partner tier' program.
First rate report, thank you!
There is only one super power on the planet.