| The Saab Gripen has won the competition for the F-5 replacement for Switzerland. An order of 22 aircraft (with a possible follow on of 11 aircraft).
The Rafale was widely thought to be the leader in the competition that also included the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The Swiss Government publicly stated that "The Swiss authorities have explained that "financial arguments have played a decisive role in choosing the type of aircraft".
Certainly as far as I am concerned there is some confusion about the model Switzerland will receive, it appears to be a halfway house between the Standard C/D option and the much touted NG option (basically the C/D with NG avionics, such as the AESA with Swash plate).
The Gripen is now the most successful of the Euro canards in terms of export customers (if not export numbers), with South Africa, Thailand, Czechoslovakia and Hungary being customers.
My personal opinion is that this was a wise choice for Switzerland who would have had to order a smaller fleet of Rafales/EF, for performance that, lets be honest, they don't really need. |
