SAAF cannot afford to operate Gripens!

South Africa Unable to afford to operate Saab Gripens: 

12 Fighters Moth-balled!

12 Gripen fighter jets are in long-term storage is a massive indictment of the suspected corrupt Arms Deal

The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, made the astounding admission today that 12 JAS 39 Gripen Advanced Light Fighter jets, which were purchased as part of the Arms Deal more than a decade ago, and cost billions of rands in public funds, are in long-term storage.

Replying to a parliamentary question on how many Gripen fighter jets were in long-term storage, the minister replied:

 "The South African Air Force (SAAF) has 12 Gripen Fighter Aircraft placed in long-term storage. These aircraft are placed in a storage as a planned activity in line with their utilization and budget expenditure patterns/flow of SAAF.

The 12 Gripen fighter jets in long-term storage are presumably vacuum-packed, like frozen chickens, in a hanger somewhere in South Africa.

The Gripen fighter jets are supposed to provide the air combat capability for the South African Air Force (SAAF).

However, the Gripen fighter jets are effectively grounded because the operating budget has been stripped to the bone and the SAAF cannot afford to operate the "Gripen system".

The sad facts about the "Gripen system" are as follows:

26 Gripen fighter jets were delivered;
10 or fewer Gripen fighter jets are operational;
12 Gripen fighter jets are in long-term storage;
there are 6 qualified pilots; and
there are about 150 flying hours available to the entire squadron ("2 Squadron") for 2013.
One of the biggest scandals of the Arms Deal is that we bought military equipment we could not afford to operate.

And there is no better illustration of the point than the Gripen fighter jets in long-term storage.

It is imperative that the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, reviews the allocation of the operating funding to the "Gripen system" in the SAAF.

Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, March 12 2013

Saab Gripen E/F: Switzerland's next fighter aircraft

Swiss Intro to Saab Gripen E/F

Defence and security company Saab’s Gripen E/F Test Aircraft has now been introduced to Switzerland. 

It took place during the Swiss Air Force spectacular annual flight demonstration at the Axalp-Ebenfluh shooting range. 

Saab took the aircraft to Switzerland on invitation of Armasuisse, which is responsible for the acquisition process of a new fighter to replace the Swiss Air Force´s fleet of F-5 Tiger. The Swiss Government officially declared their type selection of Gripen as the replacement in November of last year.

Every year, the flight demonstration at the Axalp event attracts thousands of spectators that hike up the mountain for hours to reach the shooting range, which is situated at more than 2 000 meters above sea level. This year was no exception, it is estimated that approximately 7 000 people witnessed the event.

The Gripen E/F Test Aircraft was flown by a Swiss pilot in the front seat and with a Saab test pilot in the back seat.

“We have been flying with two Swiss pilots during a week for the Axalp event and the aircraft has performed excellently. We are now looking forward to continue the test flight programme in cooperation with Armasuisse and the Swiss Air Force,” says Richard Ljungberg, Chief Test Pilot at Saab. “The flights at Axalp was a good opportunity to show Gripen in Switzerland, both to the public and politicians.”

“This week we gave the Swiss people including media and key stakeholders from the Security commission (SiK) the opportunity to see, touch, and feel the aircraft. It was truly a magnificent week and we proved that the Gripen, is as we all know, outstanding.”

Gripen E/F, the next generation Gripen, is an advanced and modern fighter aircraft system that meets the demands of tomorrow’s air defence from countries around the world. Saab keeps building on experiences from previous versions of Gripen which have a proven track record with five air forces.

The next generation Gripen will have a dramatically enhanced performance. The Gripen E aircraft delivered to Switzerland will be a state-of-the-art fighter aircraft system with advanced capabilities. The new software and hardware (e.g. the new AESA radar) of the next generation Gripen E have been tested and demonstrated in the Gripen E/F test aircraft.