Combat Jet that can Land/Take Off on Graft Prone Highways of DPWH

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Son of a gun, after some U.S high officials from the White House and Capitol Hill offered the top of the line multiple - role combat jet F-16 Viper to the Philippines, they are using now a Filipina-American F-16 lady pilot United States Air Force Major Monessa Balzhiser nee Catunca (her photo at the bottom of this article) to hype the multi-billion pesos each jet, yes Virginia EACH jet for a squadron (12 Jets), for the Philippines Air Force.
Last month, the maker of multiple - role combat jet Saab Gripen Jas 39 C (P5 billion each) sent not only its Vice President for Communication Robert Hewson but even its "deadly bird" at the Asian Defense & Security (ADAS) 2018/ Arms Expo at the World Trade Center in Pasay City to show off to high officials led by President Rodrigo Duterte, wide eyed Filipino pilots from the air force, and others the plane and its array of lethal missiles it carries.
The JAS, by the way, is the Swedish abbreviation of the aircraft for Jakt (air-to-air), Attack (air-to-surface) and Spaning (reconnaissance) - a feature for three kinds of jets in the past we now called "multi-role" just like what 3-in-1 instant coffee the Filipino pedestrians understand.

 I even have a lengthy video interview there with Saab Vice President Hewson (his and my photo at the bottom here), an Irish guy, where he crowed that the Sweden made aircraft is not only cheaper to maintain but could compete with the F-16 V versus the jets of the Chinks. 

LAND ANYWHERE - Sweden Saab Gripen Jas 39 C jet can land and short take off in Philippines highways so it can effectively fight the Chinese jets that would surely bomb into smithereens those runways in Palawan, Basa, Clark, and Villamor.

One-hour flying the F-16 V cost more than a million peso from our coffer versus Gripen's P350, 000 where the Saab made "messenger of death” can land on 400 meters long RUDIMENTARY highway, with some palay being solar dried by our hard headed farmers, with few crew to assist it compared to the one - engine's  F-16s, and other twin engines jets like F-15 that need two to more than two kilometers of runway.

Compared to F-16V, the old Jas 39, with all the payloads of death, during the Cold War  can take off on the  800 meters feeder road. The latest Jas 39 C or D can take off today less of these meters I mentioned.

Compared to F-16V . Gripen has a short-turnaround time of just ten minutes, during which a team composed of a technician and five conscripts would be able to re-arm, refuel (remember that drum where the Gripen can just suck the fuel from the hose?), and perform basic inspections and servicing inside that time window before returning to flight and shoot the bad guys Chink above. 

Primordially, to a cash strapped NATO Country or No Action Talk Only country Philippines. Gripen is ideal because it provides "50% lower operating costs than its best competitors like the F-16 V.

According to Jane's Aerospace and Defense Consulting study (2012) compared the operational costs of a number of modern combat aircraft, concluding that Gripen had the lowest cost per flight hour (CPFH) when fuel used, pre-flight preparation and repair, and scheduled airfield-level maintenance together with associated personnel costs were combined. The Gripen had an estimated CPFH of US$4,700 whereas the next lowest, the F-16 Block 40/50, had a 49% higher CPFH at $7,000.

One of the other arguments of the pro Gripen jet's proponents is in case war ensued with the Mainland Chinese and our lilliputian air force our runways in Palawan, Basa, Clark, and Villamor will be turned into smithereens by Chinese guided missiles from its ships, long range jet bombers, battle ships, or submarines lurking menacingly at the water of Scarborough in Masinloc, Zambales.

 But it we buy the Gripen, gee whiz, the plane can just land and take off in any national highway built by the Department of Public Works & Highway and keep shooting those Chinese jets above our air spaces. 

Never mind, salamabit, the quality of the pot holed and crack paved concrete as a result of the S.O.Ps given by the contractors to our corrupt congressmen who interceded for the national projects, the Gripen will still land and take off on the hated road and keeps shootin' with its missiles those bad guys in the sky.

What price glory, as the Yanks would tell us in the history books.

***

Moreover, one key aspect of the Gripen program that Saab have been keen to emphasize has been technology-transfer agreements and industrial partnerships with export customers like the Philippines.
According to an article "Gripen and Switzerland: Industrial Partnership", the Gripen is typically customized to customer requirements, enabling the routine inclusion of local suppliers in the manufacturing and support processes. A number of South African firms provide components and systems – including the communications suite and electronic warfare systems – for the Gripens operated by South African Air Force. Wikipedia cited that operators also have access to the Gripen's source code and technical documentation, allowing for upgrades and new equipment to be independently integrated. Some export customers intend to domestically assemble the Gripen; it has been proposed that Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer may produce Gripens for other export customers as well.

*** 

HERE'S the National Interest: 

"The JAS-39 is an excellent low cost fourth-generation fighter. Originally developed in Sweden the 1980s—part of the that nation’s efforts at maintaining a neutral foreign policy stance—the Nordic machine is designed to be relatively cheap, easy to maintain and fight off any potential aggressor.

Those traits have made the Gripen an attractive prospect for many nations including Brazil, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand. More countries—deterred by the outrageous price tags of rival machines—are likely to jump onboard the Gripen bandwagon as more advanced derivatives of the Swedish jet enter production. Croatia, Finland, and Bulgaria are but a few possibilities as they begin to look for replacements for ageing hardware.

Sweden started developing the Gripen in 1979 as a replacement for its J-35 Draken and JA-37 Viggen fighters. The basic requirement was a Mach 2.0-class fighter with good short-field performance. Sweden expected to disperse its aircraft in case of an invasion, which meant that the aircraft had to be able to operate from 2,600 feet by 30 feet strips. The jets also had to be serviceable away from the comforts of a proper airbases since the most likely operating areas were going to be highways.

The aircraft that emerged was a single-engine, single-seat, canard design powered by a Volvo-Flygmotor RM12—a derivative of the F/A-18’s General Electric F404-GE-400. It’s a myth that Sweden developed the Gripen entirely on its own, a lot of the technologies like the engine, were outsourced to keep costs down. (Indeed, the use of British components scuttled a potential deal with Argentian) 

Over the years, there have been two previous iterations of the Gripen. The original A and B models gave way to the much-improved C and D model  aircraft. Saab is currently developing an advanced next-generation Gripen model called the JAS-39E/F Gripen NG that is likely to be delivered to the Swedish air force in 2018. It will also fly with Brazil’s air force.

READ MY OTHER ARTICLE:

Why Gripen Jas 39 a cut above its rivals like F-16V

Filipina-American F-16 lady pilot United States Air Force Major Monessa Balzhiser nee Catunca

Author being shown by Saab Gripen Vice President for Communication Robert Hewson the  mock- up display of multiple role fighter  multi-billion pesos Gripen Jas 39 C and its vaunted long range fire and forget Robot System (RBS) 15 anti-ship missile at the three-day arms expo dubbed as Asian Defense & Security (ADAS) 2018 held recently at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Philippines.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)