Sweden Needs 60 To 80 Gripen Fighters To Meet Its Defence Needs, Says The Country’s Top Officer

November 9, 2012. David Pugliese - Defence Watch

Radio Sweden is reporting that Sweden needs at least 60 Gripen combat aircraft in the future. That is the message the Swedish Armed Forces Supreme Commander Sverker Göransson, told a parliamentary hearing on Thursday.

More from the Radio Sweden report:

“Sweden needs 60-80 fighter aircraft to meet the technical and operational threat scenario, “says Armed Forces Supreme Commander Sverker Goranson. The government has asked for a parliamentary mandate to buy 40-60 planes.  The armed forces could not provide details of what initiatives are needed and what they would cost if the number of Super-Jas, the so-called E-model of the JAS 39 Gripen, was to reach 60.

The first Super-Jas plane made by Saab aerospace is expected to be operational from 2023 and will be used until 2042. Defence Ministry State Secretary Carl von der Esch said that the total annual cost for the system is estimated at SEK3 billion starting from next year, ie a total of SEK 90 billion.

Parliament will decide in December whether to allow the Government to order between 40-60 planes.