Finnish DefMin interested in F-35s, not Gripens

white_lightning35 · by **white_lightning35** » 15 Jun 2019, 01:12

The F-35 looks great with those external pylons imo

magitsu · by **magitsu** » 15 Jun 2019, 14:33

Nice patch seen at the airshow on one of the F-35 pilots.
https://twitter.com/TeroTweet/status/11 ... 8503800833

jetblast16 · by **jetblast16** » 16 Jun 2019, 01:25

Zoom in on the right display subdivision ... an interesting IR image of a runway?

jetblast16 · by **jetblast16** » 16 Jun 2019, 02:06

Yeah, that's it lol. I saw the F-35B nozzle symbology on the lower left of the (v)HUD :mrgreen:

magitsu · by **magitsu** » 16 Jun 2019, 02:29

I wonder why are they running F-35B sim? Shouldn't they be selling F-35A?
Conspiracy theory: LM has even bigger surprise than Swedish AEW planes in store. :wink:

Perhaps they don't have sims anywhere in Europe except the UK (hence B)?

jetblast16 · by **jetblast16** » 16 Jun 2019, 02:31

When I looked closer at the pic, I saw that they were running the 'B' variant of the jet ...

Maybe to show how easy it is to fly, and land magitsu; not much difference between it and the 'A'?

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 16 Jun 2019, 02:42

The travel sim can switch between F-35 variants easily. If I had the chance I would want to see/fly the F-35B though I have no STOVLie experience [only conventional carrier landings in an A4G Skyhawk] (I would survive any crashes OK). :roll:

magitsu · by **magitsu** » 16 Jun 2019, 02:54

spazsinbad wrote:BTW the travel sim can switch between F-35 variants easily.

Ok. Good to know.
Flying B would be more interesting if given a chance, easy to believe.

optimist · by **optimist** » 16 Jun 2019, 04:16

: JpFX8IA.jpg (73.27 KiB) Viewed 39619 times

: zWgsNfh.jpg (67.41 KiB) Viewed 39619 times

spazsinbad · by **spazsinbad** » 16 Jun 2019, 04:23

loke · by **loke** » 17 Jun 2019, 09:25

magitsu wrote:Wow, Saab just confirmed that their offer includes 2 GlobalEye AEW/C planes. So it's 52 Gripen E, 12 F, 2 GlobalEye (Bombardier Global 6000 featuring Saab's Erieye ER radar). https://twitter.com/SaabFI/status/1139474538675265537

Quite surprising, but highlights how much leeway the tenderers were given in forming the best capability package.

GlobalEye has only one customer, UAE. At least some deliveries have been made. Erieye radar has plenty more customers.

What share of the financial package they would consume? UAE's first order for two in 2015 was for $1.3B. Third one in 2017 was $236M extra. So roughly 1 billion out of estimate 7-10.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globaleye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erieye

How do you arrive at 1B?

It is interesting hat Saab is able to offer 2 GlobalEye within the budget -- perhaps part of the deal could be some kind of cost sharing with Sweden? Look at how NATO is organizing their AWACS. If Sweden and Finland operate GlobalEye jointly, from one shared base, then presumably that would reduce the cost each of them would have to pay. If they also can agree to share the actual units, then they could have perhaps 4 GlobalEye, 2 paid by Sweden and 2 by Finland. If they work out a schedule it should be possible to always have at least 2 available, at any time. Nice resource, and a lot of bang for the bucks.

I assume Saab is also including the new jammer pod in this package as well? Not that it matters, the F-35 is still front runner IMHO.

By the time Finland is ready to sign the F-35 contract the F-35 is probably as cheap as Gripen E/F -- thus it should probably be possible to combine the GlobalEye with F-35, within the budget...? Unless the current GlobalEye offer is tied very tightly to Gripen.

optimist · by **optimist** » 17 Jun 2019, 12:29

I'll just throw this in for interest. UK is buying the Aussie e-7a, as an AEW.

loke · by **loke** » 17 Jun 2019, 13:49

optimist wrote:I'll just throw this in for interest. UK is buying the Aussie e-7a, as an AEW.

I would assume it may be more expensive than the GlobalEye, and may not fit into the tight Finnish budget?

magitsu · by **magitsu** » 04 Aug 2019, 15:50

loke wrote:
optimist wrote:I'll just throw this in for interest. UK is buying the Aussie e-7a, as an AEW.

I would assume it may be more expensive than the GlobalEye, and may not fit into the tight Finnish budget?

Yeah, it won't fit. For example FiAF went for cheaper Casa C-295 instead of C-27J Spartan.
Boeing also thought it was better idea to offer Growlers rather than Wedgetails. It was their prerogative.

magitsu · by **magitsu** » 09 Aug 2019, 17:41

Finland’s Air Force chief tackles recruiting challenges and its quest for a future fighter
https://www.defensenews.com/2019/08/09/ ... e-fighter/