SINGAPORE, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Between now and 2010, over 2,000 military fighter jets are expected to be replaced across the world including several hundreds in Asia, in countries like Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand. Competition to get those upcoming contracts promises to be intense, but one new generation multi-role fighter aircraft, the Saab/BAE Systems JAS 39 Gripen, is quickly positioning itself to take what it hopes will be at least a 10 percent share of that market.
"Over the next few years we see a potential market of over several 100 aircraft that we can compete for in Asia," says Stephen Reeves, Gripen International's executive vice president for international marketing. "We are confident there is a fair share for us to capture," he told UPI in an interview.
Originally developed by Industry GroupJAS (SAAB, Ericsson, Volvo Aero and FFV Aerotech), the aircraft is now marketed by Gripen International, which is jointly owned by SAAB AB of Sweden and BAE SYSTEMS of the United Kingdom.
Reeves refused to give any details about potential clients, citing confidentiality. "All I can say is that we have had interest from several countries which are looking to replace their older F-5 and Mirage...We believe there are very good opportunities out there."
The company will be competing against some of the newer, fourth generation aircraft such as the American F-35/JSF, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale.
But Reeves argues that Gripen has several advantages over its competitors, one of which is its "substantial" lower unit cost, as well as its lower cost per man hour of operation. "Our plane only cost an average of $2,000 per hour to fly. This compares with $25,000 for some of the Russian aircrafts," he said.
Moreover, this fairly recent multi-role supersonic combat aircraft is the only one so far to be able to change roles in the air at the press of a button, resulting in a unique swing-role, multi-mission flexibility for interception, ground attack and reconnaissance tasks, Reeves says.
Many military aircraft have multi-mission functions, but need to come back to base to change from one to the other. With the Gripen jet, a pilot on a reconnaissance mission can launch a ground attack if necessary and fight another aircraft in the air thanks to a highly sophisticated computer system on board, which even allowed a pilot to control other unmanned planes in the air in combat situation.
At a time, when many military budgets are being closely watched and air forces across the world have to reduce the number of jets they are flying such type of aircraft has obvious advantages, Reeves said. "It's a completely new concept. Other companies are working on similar aircraft, but they are way behind," Reeves says.
Gripen has been in service with the Swedish Air Force since 1997 and to date 130 of the 204 aircraft on order have been delivered.
In addition, Gripen has also been selected by the South African Air Force (28 aircraft for an estimated value order of $1.5 billion) and the Hungarian Air Force (14 aircraft for $505 million).
Last month, the Czech Air Force also announced 14 Gripen aircraft would replace Russian MIG 21 currently being operated. The Czech rejected a rival offer for U.S. Lockheed Martin's F-16 despite political pressures. Similar political pressures from the U.S. government are believed to have pushed the Polish government to choose the American F-16C/D over Gripen in a 48 aircraft deal estimated to be worth approximately $3.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Gripen is also high in the running for the current tender by the Brazilian Air Force, Latin America's biggest arms contract in years to replace its ageing Mirage III fleet. Although the bidding is for an initial 12 fighter jets worth up to $700 million, the overall requirement of the Brazilians is for 100 jets.
Gripen is facing competition from Lockheed Martin's F-16, France's Dassault Aviation's Mirage as well as the Russian Sukhoi 35 and MIG 29. "The Brazilian decision is due next month and we understand that we're very well placed," Reeves says.
In order to attract Asian clients, Gripen will present its plane for the first time at Asian Aerospace (February 24-29).
"With the recent wins that we've achieved the level of interest in the aircraft has increased substantially. What we see happening is that a number of countries which were previously looking at more costly aircraft are now expressing an interest at understanding of the Gripen," he explains.
Reeves pointed the group offers a non-aligned aircraft which might be attractive to some countries in the region.
It also offer extensive offset programs which are not limited to the military sector, but include health, transport, etc. As part of major defence contract most countries require suppliers to undertake inward investments, usually equal to 100 percent of the contract.
