(Luft) Saab Gripen

[Quintus Fabius]

Der besondere Witz an dem Schweizer Deal war, dass die Schweiz eine erhebliche Menge Geld des "Kaufpreises" für Teuerungen und zur Absicherung finanzieller Risiken vorhalten wollte. Das heißt die Schweizer Summe beinhaltet Geld dass eventuell dann gar nicht hätte bezahlt werden müssen, wenn die Gripen E vom Preis her so kommt wie geplant oder günstiger wird.

Und nun wird sie definitiv für Brasilien günstiger und auch für die Schweden. Das heißt: dieses Sicherheitspolster in der von der Schweiz angedachten Summe wäre gar nicht verwendet worden sondern wieder frei für andere Zwecke geworden.

Von 2014:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140317/DEFREG01/303170022/Saab-Drives-Down-Gripen-Cost-Amid-Export-Push">http://www.defensenews.com/article/2014 ... xport-Push</a><!-- m -->

Saab expects to halve the cost of developing and building an upgraded E version of the single-engine Gripen fighter,

Saab believes it has broken the so-called Augustine’s law, in which former Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Norman Augustine predicted only one fighter would be affordable in 2054, with the Air Force and Navy sharing it and the Marines getting use on a leap year.

Over the past 10 years, the Swedish company has cut costs in development, production, operation and maintenance on the C single-seat and D twin-seat Gripen models

The Air Force’s requirements “drove up the cost curve,” he said. “We succeeded breaking the cost curve a few years ago, and we have been able to prove it. This is also a key factor for the future.”

Saab’s use of the Catia 8 3D design software from Dassault Systemes has been key in boosting productivity and cutting costs.

The design and modeling program allows a concurrent computer process that is doing away with the 70,000 documents used for the C/D units, said Lars Ydresko, head of aeronautics and aerostructures. On the Neuron demonstrator, this gave Saab simultaneous access among the 14 technical areas of development, he said.

Saab, therefore, increased productivity by 30 percent on converting the A/B version to C/D standard, while the target is a 50 percent increase for the E by 2016-17.

Work on a demonstrator aircraft for the Gripen E showed cost could be cut by 60 percent. That demonstrator and the Neuron helped “de-risk” the E, Sindahl said.

The process is expected to allow Saab to drop the number of test flights from 3,700 for the C/D to 1,200 for the E, saving Money.

In December, Brazil chose the Swedish fighter in a $4.5 billion deal over Boeing’s F/A-18 and Dassault’s Rafale.

Lt. Brigadier Junito Saito, Brazil’s air chief, told the Brazilian Senate Committee on external relations Feb. 27 that Gripen was chosen due in large part to agreement for local assembly and access to source code, which would allow Brazil to fit weapons from other countries, defense website SLD reported.

Der volle Zugriff auf alles ist ein wesentlicher Unterschied der Gripen zu beispielsweise einer F-16. Da behalten sich die Amis alles vor.



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/saab-reveals-full-gripen-e-design-cost-savings-396977/">http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... gs-396977/</a><!-- m -->

Lars Ydreskog, Saab’s head of aerospace operations, says the company’s use of a model-based design technique based around Dassault Systemes’ CATIA software is generating huge benefits for the E project. “You can show the operator how they will do something in 2023, before you’ve done anything in the development,” he notes. Combined with a reduced parts count – for example, a single machined part is now used to construct the radar frame, versus more than 20 on the C – and reduced lead times, the new version will be cheaper to produce. Compared against 2009 prices, “it’s going to be a 50% productivity increase”, Ydreskog says. The E-model demonstrator activity using aircraft 39-7 has also been performed for just 40% of its initial projected cost, he adds.

Saab has also driven increased efficiency through its experience in the Gripen’s conversion from the A/B to C/D standards, as well as through manufacturing parts for Airbus and Boeing commercial products, and design and production work for the Dassault-led Neuron unmanned combat air system technology demonstrator. The company’s aeronautics unit now has around 3,000 engineers, 800 of which were recruited in the last two to three years.

The global fleet of Gripens now operated by the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand has logged 203,000 flight hours, according to Saab. The Swedish air force lists its current per-hour operating cost with the type as being around SKr48,000 ($7,560).

Und die in der Schweiz dazu genannten Zahlen pro Flugstunde sind wieder ein hübsches Beispiel für Schweizer Milchmädchenrechnung weil sie nicht von Betriebskosten pro Stunden ausgehen sondern die Kosten für gemietete Maschinen mit allem drum und dran (einschließlich Waffen) durch die Zahl der von der Schweizer Luftwaffe für Luftpolizei pro Jahr verwendeten Flugstunden teilen.