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A comment on Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets. Parent comment

Re:Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets by Mikeb85 on Saturday December 21, 2013 @03:09PM (#6947826)
The Gripen has some unique advantages. It's ease of operating, servicing, and STOL capability allows it to be deployed from just about anywhere - you can land it on a forest road, service it, and it can take off from a very short runway again. And it still has great performance.

It's really the perfect fighter for Switzerland - a country which doesn't really need a 2-engine fighter. The Rafale's main advantages are range and payload, which does nothing for a small country whose only need is self-defence...

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Re:Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets by icegreentea on Saturday December 21, 2013 @03:20PM (#6947868)
Agreed. The reason I put that example in there was to point out that airframe performance is not the only axis by which fighters can be measured, and there could be reasons unrelated to US political pressure that a country would purchase a Super Hornet over more modern platforms.
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Re:Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets by sanoli on Saturday December 21, 2013 @04:28PM (#6948133)
Which is the main issue with Brazil's choice of the Gripen -- range. Brazil is huge, larger than the US's lower 48. From this point of view, the Rafale was a clear winner.
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Re:Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets by pitiburi on Saturday December 21, 2013 @04:54PM (#6948237)
The BIG reasons seem to be the transfer of technology and the fact that Sweden hasn't any presence or interests in South America or South Pacific, while France and USA certainly do. So, with the Swedish fighter they have no strings attached.
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Re:Lost Brazil order raises threat to Boeing fighter jets by gtirloni on Saturday December 21, 2013 @07:58PM (#6948821)
You just have to deploy them wisely. Brazil is buying 35 jets now but the expectation is we'll buy 120. You don't have to station them all in one place.
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