Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
The Saab Grippen and Rafale/Eurofighters aren't in the same class as the F-35. They're on an curve to obsolescence that will occur long before their Canadian Air Force retirement date.
If we're going to a strategy of a smaller airforce with another 30 year + life cycle then you buy as up to date as you can.
Besides.
The second production run of the F-35 is expected to come in at a cost of about $80 million per plane
The Eurofighter is price tagged at about $105,000,000 per plane
The Rafale is a 30 year old design with a cost of nearly $90 million per plane
Saab Gripen is about $70 million US
And for the cost difference none of them compete with the F-35 capabilities.
So we save $10 million dollars a plane for the Saab over 30 years and it will basically lag behind the F-35 badly.
The Rafale and the eurofighter are just as much or more and far less capable in terms of future use.
If there is a fair competition for future fighter jets, its going to be the F-35. But I don't expect that its going to be a fair competition.
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http://saab.com/air/gripen-fighter-s...ipen-e-series/
So you're telling me this Gripen E fighter Jet that Saab is just releasing in the upcoming years is already behind the curve? I remember seeing a youtube video earlier this year of them undergoing test flights. Surely the stats difference between this and the F-35 can't be that far off. Im getting the impression you're giving me that this is a flip phone vs iPhone comparison.
The F-35 can't be the only "advanced" option we have/there is?