Thailand Buying JAS-39 Gripens, AWACS

 Sweden’s FMV announces  that it has begun delivering Thailand’s 2nd set of fighters, after conveying the 2nd order’s S340 AEW&C plane and RBS-15F missiles. Fighters # 6 – 8 have now been delivered to the Royal Thai Air Force, with stopovers along the way in Hungary, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and India.

It’s a small, agile fighter that can take off and land on highways, while carrying the latest technologies and weapons. It does very well against NATO’s best aircraft in exercises, comes with a reasonable price tag, and is built for low lifetime operating costs. Unfortunately, in a world where people often buy your weapons because they want you to be their friend, the cachet of having Sweden in your corner isn’t quite what it used to be when their sailors wore those cool horned helmets. As a result, the JAS-39 Gripen is an excellent, reasonably-priced fighter yet it has been struggling for traction in the global marketplace.

A recent sale to Thailand has expanded Saab’s horizons somewhat, as the Gripen beat out the SU-30s favored by the previous Thai government. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 had been considered the leading contender to replace the RTAF’s 15-25 aging F-5B/Es, given Thailand’s extensive history  with that aircraft. Other candidates included Russia’s MiG-29, and France’s Rafale. Saab had a very competitive offering on cost and performance, but in order to win, they had to throw in a very significant “something extra”: their Saab 340-AEW AWACS aircraft.

Swedish Military Want Cyber-attack Capability

The Swedish armed forces want to build their capability to attack other countries’ computer networks. In a recent report on the long term strategic planning, the armed forces stress the need to also go on the offensive as part of the cyber defence.

It is not that common to hear Sweden, with its long tradition of neutrality, talking of acquiring capabilities to attack other countries. But in the armed forces’ latest forward planning document that was handed over to the government the other week, there is a repeated mention of the need to develop what is called “offensive cyber capabilities”.

The Social Democrat spokesperson on defence Peter Hultqvist thinks this is the right way forward.

“The technical development takes its course and this is an area where, if you are serious in thinking about the future, you have to keep up and in some way develop our capabilities. And when you speak of capabilities, it means defensive as well as offensive ones,” he says.

Sweden Plans Defense Spending Boost

Health of the Force: The Armed Forces Command warns in a new report that a funding crisis with the potential to force the disbanding of core units is imminent unless the government backs a 'significant' increase in annual spending.

HELSINKI — The Swedish government’s promise to bolster 
defense spending and inject more capital into equipment 
procurement programs has failed to impress the country’s 
military establishment.The Defense Ministry said in September that expenditures on 
defense would increase by US $220 million in 2014-17, yielding 
an annual increase of $60 million a year. The armed forces budget 
for 2013 amounts to $6.2 billion.Still, the Armed Forces Command (AFC) warns in a new government-commissioned report that examines the probable state of health of
 national defense in future years, that a funding crisis with the 
potential to force the disbanding of core units is imminent unless 
the government backs a “significant” increase in annual spending.

“Over the long term, if the government fails to change our mandate and the resources that are allocated to us, we will be forced to disband certain units,” said Gen. Sverker Göranson, AFC chief, during an Oct. 1 news conference.

Göranson created a political storm last spring when he informed

 the government, based on a tactical assessment of the military’s 

standing capability, that the armed forces would be able to only “

defend Sweden for less than a week,” in the event of an attack.

The AFC’s Budget Perspective 2013 report further warns of the danger 

that the military may have to decrease the Air Force’s front-line fighter 

fleet from around 100 JAS combat aircraft to 60 planes if future budgets 

fail to match the AFC’s ambition to maintain full capability in all core branches.

According to Göranson, the government must decide whether it wants Sweden to have a modern, high-tech and capable armed force equipped

 to defend the country.

The alternative to a high level of ambition for Swedish defense, Göranson said, is for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s center-right coalition to develop a long-term budget plan for national defense that will determine which parts of defense are affordable and which are not.

“The armed forces need to be able to invest in quality before quantity. If the current budget levels are maintained going forward, there would have to be cutbacks in what we can afford to provide. Conceivably, we could be looking at fewer tactical transport aircraft and helicopters. Cuts to the Navy could mean fewer surface ships and submarines,” Göranson said.

The AFC report is based on government spending objectives for the military set down in 2009. In that year, Swedish spending on defense represented 1.35 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The AFC estimates that by 2016, if the existing low-investment framework continues, defense expenditures could fall to below 1.1 percent of GDP. Sweden’s defense spending was 1.2 percent of GDP in 2012, the lowest of any Nordic or Baltic state.

The report conceded that although the cost savings and military reorganization programs directed by the government could deliver a functional readiness capacity, it said that this would be at the expense of a lower fighting capability. Moreover, the report suggested that the military’s overall defense role and capability could also be boosted through cross-border defense pacts with neighboring Nordic states.

The conclusion reached by the report is that the military’s capacity to defend Sweden against all land, sea and air threats will continue to weaken unless defense funding is scaled up to a level that ensures adequate manpower, trained forces and modern equipment exist to repel possible attacks against the country’s territorial sovereignty.

The Budget Perspective 2013 report reflects the widening gap between what the Swedish government is proposing in terms of future spending on defense, and what the military needs to provide a credible national defense capacity, said Peter Hultqvist, the Social Democratic chairman of the Swedish parliament’s Committee on Defense.

“The government needs to listen more carefully to what the military are saying, and have been saying for quite some time. Quality defense is not cheap. It comes at a price, and it needs political support to be effective,” Hultqvist said in an interview. “As a nonaligned regional state, we need to have a level of spending on defense that reflects our ambitions and intentions. The government can’t simply keep on asking the military to do more for less and expect it to cope with the more technologically advanced threats that could materialize in 10 to 20 years.”

The Budget Perspective 2013 report contributes to the ongoing political debate around defense capability, budgeting and the ongoing issue over whether Sweden’s military capacity could be strengthened through NATO membership or closer operational cooperation with neighboring Nordic countries, said Allan Widman, Folkpartiet’s (Liberal People’s Party) spokesman on defense.

“Essentially, the report asks the pertinent question about what kind of defense Sweden wants and can afford. With a shift to increased expenditure, we can have the full range of capability, from modern fighters to submarines, and the latest fighting technologies. On the other hand, a lower level of spending could mean a more limited fighting force that would be used to defend certain localized areas,” Widman said.

Peter Sandwall, the director general of the Swedish Armed Forces, described the government’s recent defense budget increase as “welcome but not enough.”

“There is still a long way to go before Sweden’s military is properly funded. The extra funding is basically a positive decision. With that said, there are still a number of long-term issues regarding the role of the armed forces and the budget — not least in terms of equipment,” Sandwall said.

On the materiel procurement side, the MoD says it is committed to funding acquisition programs that will significantly improve the country’s fighting capability.

To this end, there will be continued funding for the Archer mobile artillery project being jointly run with Norway. The first four Archer systems were delivered to the Swedish Army on Sept. 23. The total order calls for the delivery of 24 systems to Sweden.

The MoD has also provisionally approved $162 million in new funding to acquire 100 BvS10 armored all-terrain vehicles from BAE Systems Hägglunds. The proposed BvS10s are to be purchased in multiple variants, including troop carriers, command vehicles, ambulance and logistic carriers for the Swedish Army

.

Defense Industry of Sweden to invest US$36.5 billion in strengthening Swedish armed forces.

The defence industry in Sweden has a long history, dating back to the time when Sweden was a more active military power. Sweden is expected to invest US$36.5 billion in strengthening its armed forces. The country's military expenditure will be directed toward the purchase of new defence systems, international peacekeeping missions, and strengthening its borders.

Swedish Company SAAB booth at Defense exhibition

Although there is a slight increase in the country's total defence budget, military expenditure as a percentage of GDP is predicted to decrease from 1.2% in 2013 to 1.0% by 2018. This is primarily because the nation's defence expenditure is not expected to grow at the same rate as economic growth. Sweden intends to improve the mobility and the sophistication of its armed forces, to increase their focus on missions. Due to this, Sweden is anticipated to procure defence equipment such as modified minesweepers, submarines, command and control systems, tactical helicopters, new-generation submarines, mobile artillery-hunting radar systems and armoured vehicles, and next-generation Gripen aircraft. Pressure to increase the defence budget to effectively transform the Swedish forces from a conscription army to a voluntary force, is expected to drive the defence budget. The Swedish defence industry's largely independent nature remains a great strength. The need to independently produce defence systems has given rise to a great level of technical and manufacturing competency from Swedish companies.

Top Ten Modern Aircraft

10- J-10

The J-10 adopts a “tailless delta-canard” aerodynamic layout, which was originally developed for the cancelled J-9 fighter. The aircraft has the horizontal control surfaces moved forward to become a canard in front of the wing.

Comparison of JF-17 With F-16 And Others......

These all are single engine and 4.5 generation aircraft ::

u decide which one is beat!!!!!!

Sweden seeks more BvS10s

       

Sweden is looking to purchase around 100 more BvS10 Mk IIB vehicles to add to the 48 vehicles across four variants it has already ordered. Source: BAE Systems

Sweden is looking to purchase around 100 more BAE Systems BvS10 Mk IIB all-terrain vehicles, Swedish Defence Minister Karin Enstrom has stated.

Enstrom made the call on 24 September in a local newspaper article, although no formal request to that effect is understood to have been made to contractor BAE Systems.

Sweden ordered 48 BvS10s across four variants after selecting the vehicle in a competitive tender in January 2012. The initial order, worth SEK700 million (USD109 million) also include options for a further 127 vehicles across three batches.

Enstrom stated that Sweden wanted "approximately 100" more BvS10s, with a BAE Systems spokesperson telling IHS Jane's on 26 September that "we intend to start that discussion [around the number of vehicles] now and foresee that the deliveries will be 2014-16".

BAE Systems expects that Sweden will ask "for a mix of variants" in the new order, although these will be the same as from the initial order (armoured personnel carrier; command & control; logistics; and ambulance) and "not any completely new variants".

Deliveries of the original 48 BvS10s are ongoing and set to be completed in the second quarter (Q2) of 2014 - a delay from the original completion date of November 2013. According to BAE Systems, there have "been some minor changes technically and therefore a new timeplan", adding that this was "fully agreed with the Swedish customer … [and] they now are going for new batch".