The “ArmaSuisse” purchasing center, in charge of managing the competition to replace the F18 and F5 of the Swiss Air Force, announced that it had ruled out Saab's JAS 39 Gripen E/F aircraft, to the extent that the device did not meet the requirements of the call for tender. Indeed, this call for tender requires that the devices presented are already operational and capable of being tested, so as to avoid any technological risk and/or delays in the procedure. The Gripen E/F will only be able to meet these criteria in 2023.
This is a hard blow for Saab, which had high hopes for this market, to the extent that its device had already been previously selected by this same purchasing center, before the contract was canceled following a citizen vote. The Swedish device had, in fact, the price advantage, both in terms of purchase and in terms of maintenance, over all of its competitors, and more than honorable performance in many areas. Saab, which had already known a severe defeat in Slovakia last year, facing the F16V this time, is engaged in several other competitions, in Finland, India, as well as Canada.
However, we may be surprised by the elimination of the Gripen for this reason, and the retention of the Lockheed F35 in the competition, recent revelations showing that the device was still very far from being "operational" in the literal sense of the term, and whose announced price is in reality very far from covering the expenses that will have to be incurred by its buyers, if only to maintain it at the minimum operational standard.
We can also wonder if this decision does not have a more political basis, to the extent that the Saab device had already been dismissed by Swiss public opinion. Indeed, even if the Gripen E/F has evolved significantly compared to its predecessor, the public image of the device remains the same. Thus, by ruling it out, ArmaSuisse is perhaps ensuring that it does not relive the same scenario, with the Swiss being able to judge negatively that a device already ruled out by referendum is selected again.
The Gripen erased, and admitting that Swiss officials are more impervious to pressure from Lockheed than their European neighbors, the competition should now focus on a clash between Boeing's F/A 18 Super Hornet, and the Rafale by Dassault. The first has in its favor the precedence of the Swiss air forces on F18, and therefore a flexible transition both from the point of view of pilots and maintenance. THE Rafale has for him a higher level of performance, a longer future operational career, and possible rapprochements with France for training and “Police of the Sky” type operations.
