ORAC
7th May 2024, 06:52
Sweden back to the drawing board and, with the timescale discussed, no possibility of a new fighter until the mid-2040s or later.
Lots more in the full article, but mainly speculation.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/05/06/sweden-goes-back-to-the-drawing-board-for-a-next-gen-warplane/
Sweden goes back to the drawing board for a next-gen warplane
MILAN — Amid a rush within NATO to rally around next-generation combat aircraft, new alliance member Sweden is taking a pause to assess what’s next for its lineage as a warplane-producing country.
The Nordic state in 2022 suspended its flirtation with one of Europe’s two marquee airpower efforts, the Global Combat Air Programme, an initiative led by the U.K., Italy and Japan that seeks to deliver a sixth-generation fighter capability by 2035.
Fast forward to today, and Sweden’s industrial champion Saab is freshly under contract with the Ministry of Defense’s equipment branch, dubbed FMV, to conduct “conceptual studies” on future fighter systems — military jargon for starting at square one….
At this point, the studies under contract with the defense ministry are meant to illuminate the trade space in which Swedish leaders will make decisions later on. Focus areas include technology analysis, partnership opportunities, logistics and industrial implications, as well as digital and physical testing of capabilities, according Nilsson….
“Nothing has been decided yet and won’t be decided until at the very least the beginning of the next decade,” Wikman said. “No matter the direction we opt to go in, Swedish industry will always be involved.”……
Lots more in the full article, but mainly speculation.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/05/06/sweden-goes-back-to-the-drawing-board-for-a-next-gen-warplane/
Sweden goes back to the drawing board for a next-gen warplane
MILAN — Amid a rush within NATO to rally around next-generation combat aircraft, new alliance member Sweden is taking a pause to assess what’s next for its lineage as a warplane-producing country.
The Nordic state in 2022 suspended its flirtation with one of Europe’s two marquee airpower efforts, the Global Combat Air Programme, an initiative led by the U.K., Italy and Japan that seeks to deliver a sixth-generation fighter capability by 2035.
Fast forward to today, and Sweden’s industrial champion Saab is freshly under contract with the Ministry of Defense’s equipment branch, dubbed FMV, to conduct “conceptual studies” on future fighter systems — military jargon for starting at square one….
At this point, the studies under contract with the defense ministry are meant to illuminate the trade space in which Swedish leaders will make decisions later on. Focus areas include technology analysis, partnership opportunities, logistics and industrial implications, as well as digital and physical testing of capabilities, according Nilsson….
“Nothing has been decided yet and won’t be decided until at the very least the beginning of the next decade,” Wikman said. “No matter the direction we opt to go in, Swedish industry will always be involved.”……