Saab has not been able to sell a single Gripen aircraft since 2014
Swedish company Saab has not been able to sell a single JAS 39 Gripen aircraft since 2014.
Here's What We Know
The manufacturer has not been able to find a single buyer for its planes for eight years. The last contract was signed in 2014 with Brazil. At the same time, Saab calls the main reason for the failure not the parameters of the JAS 36 Gripen, but political factors.
The aircraft exists in three versions. Generations A/B and C/D were popular. The company supplied the aircraft to Thailand, South Africa, Hungary and the Czech Republic. But the third generation, the E/F, lost every possible tender except for deliveries to Brazil, as already noted. The South American country eight years ago signed a $5.4 billion contract for 27 JAS 36E Gripen fighters and eight two-seat JAS 36F Gripen. Sweden itself ordered 60 Gripen E/Fs, but the contract was signed in 2013.
Another problem for the Swedish aircraft was the American fifth generation fighter F-35 Lightning II. It is gradually taking over Europe, despite the presence (besides Gripen) of German Eurofighter and French Rafale, as well as the desire of the European Union to induce countries to buy exactly European aircraft. Nevertheless, a number of states in the EU and beyond its borders choose the F-35. In particular, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Canada.
Not only that, even in the so-called "lower segment" the Gripen is also inferior to competitors. Poland has decided to pair the American F-35 Lightning with the South Korean FA-50 fighters. It costs less than the Gripen, and requires less maintenance.
Thus, the Gripen has expectedly lost the battle to all competitors in different price segments. Not only that, there is no suggestion that Saab can change the situation in the foreseeable future.
Source: Military Watch Magazine
Image: Saab