Gripen Win in Switzerland

Yesterday Swiss defense minister, Uli Maurer announced that the jury chose - as the successor to the oldest F-5E / F - Saab JAS 39E / F Gripen. Swedes will provide 22 aircraft.

Switzerland will join the group of several countries, using Gripeny. Among them, apart from Sweden - South Africa and Thailand. They ordered respectively 26 and 12 copies. Additionally, after 14 fighter air force lent the Czech Republic and Hungary, and one - the British School Empire Test Pilots Air 'School. Swiss export order will raise the number to 89 copies Gripenów / Photo: Saab

Swiss launched a tender in January 2008, sending out requests for proposals to Boeing, EADS, Dassault and Gripen International. Ultimately, the competition faced Eurofighter, Rafale and Gripen, whose properties have been carefully compared - including a series of tests on the fly. The winner was to be chosen in late 2009, but the first dispute with France and Germany on banking secrecy, then the opposition pacifists, and finally the budget problems, that the procedure has resulted in severely delayed.

Ultimately, however, because of the need to physically replace the old F-5E / F, no later than 2015, the Swiss authorities resumed their investigation in late summer of this year.

The best offer was a proposal for Saab. The Swiss have estimated that the Gripen offers the lowest total cost of purchase and use of the fighters over 30 years. According to Swiss press closes the value of the sum of 3 billion francs ($ 3.3 billion). But it is not certain what exactly applies to this amount.The Swedes, like other bidders, proposed a 100-percent offset. Deliveries should begin in 2015 and last for 2-3 years.

Announced yesterday the decision opened the way for detailed negotiations, which should result in the signing in the coming months a final agreement. The main topics of the talks - in addition to the issue of pricing and supply conditions - will be potential to put at least part of the ordered assembly Gripenów in Switzerland.