[CaptainCrunch]

https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/...r-and-why-now/

As to the competition, despite strong economic incentives, Saab likely struggled in any situation where NATO interoperability mattered, with a growing number of alliance nations selecting the F-35. And Boeing, which at one point seemed the likely winner under the Trudeau government, faded out of the competition due to non-defense factors.
“It was unlikely that Canada would purchase a Boeing plane after the company sued Bombardier,” noted Carvin, who in 2021 published a book on Canada’s national security needs.

https://www.aviacionline.com/2022/01...an-the-gripen/

The Royal Thai Air Force is considering the acquisition of new fighter aircraft, and favors the Lockheed Martin F-35. Among the arguments, in addition to its advanced technology, it is argued that it has a cheaper acquisition price than the Saab Gripen.

The F-35 Lightning II aircraft, made by U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, have become the better option now that costs have come down, as they have dropped to $82 million (2.7 billion baht) each, compared to $142 million for the model when it was first released, ACM Napadej said.
He added that the new Swedish-made Saab Gripen is priced at $85 million per unit, making the Lockheed Martin product more convenient and within the Air Force’s reach. He even stated that, depending on the negotiations, the unit prices of the F-35 can be reduced to a little more than 70 million dollars each.
Comparing recent F-35 prices

The price of USD 82 million per F-35A unit is close to what Lockheed Martin predicted the Lot 12 aircraft will cost. The same was on par with the USD 77.9 million for the Lot 14 aircraft, which is still far from the optimistic USD 70 million mentioned by Commander Napadej Dhupatemiya.

What we do know a little more about is the cost per flight hour, which is around $8,000. The USAF establishes a current cost per flight hour for its fleet of F-35As at $33,300, or slightly less. Therefore, compared to future F-35 lots, the Gripen would have slightly higher purchase price, but significantly lower flight hour costs.
However, both the Swiss and Finnish authorities argued that the F-35 was the best cost/benefit investment, if its full life-cycle economics were taken into account.

Commander-in-Chief Napadej said the Air Force is also interested in the latest modern air warfare technologies, especially those involving the Loyal Wingman, an unmanned combat air vehicle.
Developed by the Royal Australian Air Force and Boeing, the unmanned aircraft flies teamed with other piloted aircraft to provide support and can be equipped with different weapons and sensors.

«We don’t need a full fleet of F-35 aircraft. We can use only eight to 12 and use drones to fly alongside manned aircraft.» «This will help save costs. This is relatively new, but these technologies are likely to develop quickly» commented ACM Napadej.

The MQ-28 Ghostbat loyal wingman


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_MQ-28_Ghost_Bat