Saab has given Canada a detailed plan for domestic Gripen E production, as Ottawa continues reviewing the size and composition of its planned 88-aircraft F-35 fleet.

In remarks reported by Militär Aktuell and FlightGlobal from a media briefing held alongside the Swedish Air Force centenary air show at Malmen Air Base in Linköping, Sweden, on August 22, 2026, Saab President and Chief Executive Officer Micael Johansson said the company had outlined to the Canadian government how a production line could be established.

Johansson argued that the two fighters could form a so-called “high-low mix,” combining the F-35’s specialized capabilities with the Gripen’s high availability, smaller logistical footprint and ability to operate from a wider range of airfields and improvised bases.

...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] wraekscadu@vargar.org 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Okay, question. What exactly is the Gripen good for? Asking because of ignorance, not as a gotcha.

From what I understand, our military purchases are to protect our borders against the Russians in the Arctic, the Americans in the south and also for NATO collective defense in Europe (where the largest aggressor is Russia).

Where in these cases would gripens be of any use compared to the f35s?

Against the Americans: Gripens or not, if we have to defend against them, we are kinda fucked. Our best bets would just be air defence/insurgency military hardware/drones/nukes if we can build them in event of escalation.

Against the Russians: We need to prepare to defend against the su57s, as that likely would make up their main thing for the decades to come. How would gripens help against that compared to the f35s?

As for the fears of Americans remotely disabling the f35s, well, we own the hardware, do we not? Can we not detect backdoors in advance right now, and come up with measures to remedy them? I mean how difficult is it really to flash different software when we have the hardware in our possession?

A consistent fleet of f35s would make stuff so much more efficient would it not? Getting a new plane from a new company, training maintenance crew on it, new pilots, etc. just seems... like a bad idea?

Ah, sure - moving away from US based platforms in the future makes perfect sense. Purchasing the successor of the f35 would be a bad idea, sure. Collaborating with the EU here would make more sense. But as for the current f35, I don't understand the love for the Gripen.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I don't know much about either jet, but the gripen was designed to fight against Russia, so whatever those design choices are, I'm sure that would still be beneficial for the Russian scenario here.

[–] modem_down@thebrainbin.org 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

For Canada to possess some F-35s would not do much.

Canada would also need to maintain them if conflict arises. Non-trivial, if the US is both the source of software updates and spare parts, and also the aggressor against which Canada needs to defend.

Re: Russia as the aggressor, F-35 is also a risk because POTUS and VP might side partly or wholly with Russia, e.g. refusing/limiting US arms to countries fighting Russia.

Gripen has none of those problems.

[–] i_love_FFT@jlai.lu 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Numbers are also important. How many Gripen provide similar protection as one F35? How hard/easy is it to perform maintenance and keep in the air? "Duty cycle" of the hardware.

I often read comments about ww2, where Germany has rhe best tanks "on paper", but could not produce enough units to be usefull.

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

we own the hardware, do we not?

Not if you can't do what you want with it.

Can we not detect backdoors in advance right now

Without access to the source code, that's a very involved and difficult task with no guarantees.

I mean how difficult is it really to flash different software when we have the hardware in our possession?

Way harder than you think. In fact, it's entirely possible for hardware to be designed to permanently brick itself if the firmware is not signed with the right keys.