That's right: Czech Republic and Hungary fly Gripens, as does South Africa. Offered to the Swiss to augment their F/A-18 force, but lost to the Hornet when the Finns decided to "buy American." It's competed against the F-15E, F-16 Block 50, and Rafale in several competitions, but lost to the F-15E in the ROK and Singapore, the Block 50 Viper in Chile and Oman, and Block 60 in the UAE, and nobody still has bought Rafales other than the French. It is built with full NATO interoperability, and is wired for both AIM-9 and AIM-120, so even if the U.S. loses out on the contract for the aircraft, the customers usually buy American weapons. (South Africa excepted: they went to the Israelis for the Python 3 and 4 IR and Derby active radar AAMs) Thailand and Austria are also operators or plan to be.
The Poles just finished taking delivery of 48 Block 52 F-16s, and may order more.
__________________
Treat everyone you meet with kindness and respect, but always have a plan to kill them.
Old USMC Adage
Last edited by Matt Wiser; 03-17-2009 at 09:45 PM.
|