Abingdonboy
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When will the Vixen 1000ES be on the Gripen? 2018? The Rafale's RBE2 has been in sevice for more than 2 years now.
That is a comparision of Gripen C/D so it is totally irrelevant.
The Gripen E/F addresses a lot of the shortcomings of the previous versions.
The main reason that Gripen E/F was not considered by India was that it was not available
for immediate delivery.
It is likely to be in production for several years before India actually orders something .
Tejas MK-1 is not at all comparable to Gripen E, so cost differences are irrelevant.
The new Gripen AESA radar should be superior to the one of the Rafale,
simply by the fact it is developed later than the Rafale AESA radar.
Its wide angle of detection gives interesting new capabilities in combat.
"One of the major characteristics of Raven, already present in Vixen 1000ES, is a rotating platform that allows the radar antenna to cover a scanning angle of +/- 105°. This enables the Gripen NG to move away form the target, rapidly making a curve after launching the missile, while still keeping the target in sight; with this, a terminal active phase short duration missile (i.e., after finding the target with its internal systems) can undergo trajectory corrections sent by the Gripen NG."
Other radars support maybe 60°, so they have to fly towards the incoming missile.
As for handling temperatures, obviously Gripen can handle cold temperatures,
and South Africa is about as hot as any Asian country. So is Brazil.
Stuff like this is designed according to mil specs which covers much warmer temperatures.
Still, I remember an interview with a Luftwaffe pilot which said that when it is cold,
they need to fly Phantoms, and not Eurofighter.
Obviously SAAB stirs the Hornet's nest (without Hornets) by such a bid,but that is their job. Does not cost much to make such an offer compared to the possible returns.
If there is anyone that should be desperate, its the IAF...
Whilst it is true the Vixen has a greater number of T/R modules than the RBE2 it is rather marginel and sensor power is not everything. The raw processing power onboard the Rafale coupled with its world-beating sensor fusion makes the Rafale the far superior package. The radar is just one sensor, in every other area the Rafale easily outclasses the Gripen NG.
@FrenchPilot @PARIKRAMA
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