Challenge: Have the Saab 37 Viggen as the West’s main fighter

DMA

Here’s the AH challenge! Have the cool looking Saab Viggen jet fighter as NATO’s main fighter, instead of the likes of the F-16s & company.

Extra points if non-NATO countries order the Viggen as well.

Bonus points if the Viggen actually engages in combat somewhere.

saab_viggen_1.jpg
 

zoomar

Cool looking, but the Viggen is really from an earlier generation than the F-16. Now, how about the Gripon.
 

Landshark

SAAB did actually enter the Viggen in the NATO fighter competion that was won by the F-16.

IIRC from the book I read this in SAAB promised that Swedish nautrallity would not interfere with the maintainence of a NATO Viggen force.
 

snerfuplz

Ag its got those nasty triangles near to cockpit! :D

As for getting the fighter as NATOs main fighter. Maybe if the F-16 had a flaw in the design than it would be seen as flawed and would take time to fix. If the flaw was large enough, NATO might use the Viggen.
 

Landshark

What if the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter never enters service? What if it's replaced by a supersonic Hawker Hunter or the SAAB Draken, (the latter saw service with Denmark and Finland), and the Viggen comes into service as a replacement in the early 70's?
 
Thande

Thande

Donor
Would the Americans really agree to order such a visible military symbol from a neutral power? I know they got the Harrier, but even so, rational choices often took a back seat to keeping up national appearances in the Cold War days...
 

NapoleonXIV

Banned
Give the Viggen VTOL capability, using the ultra clever design of the famous Finn Eerno Swanbeck (the world's first Lapp winner of the F. E. Newbold Award) which not only gave it full VTOL capability but was cheaper than an engine refit and saved up to 25% in fuel besides. (Named the "Warbling Wolfhunter", after the strange sound it made and Swanbeck's legendary off hours hobby:p)
 

Landshark

NapoleonXIV said:
Give the Viggen VTOL capability, using the ultra clever design of the famous Finn Eerno Swanbeck (the world's first Lapp winner of the F. E. Newbold Award) which not only gave it full VTOL capability but was cheaper than an engine refit and saved up to 25% in fuel besides. (Named the "Warbling Wolfhunter", after the strange sound it made and Swanbeck's legendary off hours hobby:p)
Click to expand...

I've just searched google and wikipedia for this Eerno Swanbeck and while I found the F E Newbold Award I didn't find any mention of your Finn.
 

Landshark

Thande said:
Would the Americans really agree to order such a visible military symbol from a neutral power? I know they got the Harrier, but even so, rational choices often took a back seat to keeping up national appearances in the Cold War days...
Click to expand...

The Americans don't have to buy it. If the European NATO members do it would still be a major NATO fighter.

I presume it would bend the rules of the challenge too much to have Sweden join NATO?
 

esl

Split developes in Nato in the wake of the Vietnam war, force Euros to look to their own resources/armaments to make do. NATO powers realise that allweather daynight fighter is needed , so F-16 is dropped from the competition.
 

Riain

Banned
Easy, don't have the US place an embargo on the export of the Viggens J8TD derived engine. The Viggen offered in competition with the F16, F1E and others was based on the JA37, 2nd generation plane. This had the best radar and electronic performance of all the competitors, STOL capability, outright performance as good as any others and a very competitive cost. But the US, frightened of losing such a valuable, competition placed an embargo on the export of the engine which was derived from the ubiquitious JT8D airliner turbofan.____________ The embargo is not placed, it is purchased widely throughout NATO, Italy sends some to Iraq in 1990-1, others see action in the Balkans in the 1990s.
 

ranoncles

In the early 1970's, European investigators discover that Lockheed bribed numerous Defence Ministers and other politicans to buy their Lockheed F104 Starfighter. Since its service entry in many European NATO air forces, the Starfighter has proven to be such a "hot" ship that dozens of pilots have died in accidents.

Dishonest trading practices and a faulty aircraft creates such a backlash that "buying American" becomes a political taboo. Unfortunately, a generation of American Phantom II's and Starfighters has killed off most of the European aircraft companies. Only Dassault and SAAB have genuine European contenders for a new NATO fighter-bomber. The Dassault entry is an austere day fighter-bomber (Mirage F1) which is comprehensively beaten by the more capable but heavier and more expensive multi-role SAAB Viggen and most European air forces opt for the Viggen in late 1970's and early 1980's. Only France refuses and opts for its F1 while it develops a new Mirage (the Mirage 2000).

By the mid 1980's, the SAAB Viggen is in front line service with practically every air force in Europe and competes heavily against the American F-16 and MiG29 in global sales.
 

BillHicksRules

Banned
Nap,

You are naughty.

The Viggen does not have VTOL capability.

It has STOL capability.

VTOL means Vertical Take Off and Landing as per the Harrier and the JSF

STOL means Short Take Off and Landing.

Cheers

BHR
 

Prinz Richard Eugen

I see a problem. The Swedish areospace industry is not large enough to produce enough aircraft for NATO - even excluding the US, who would stick with the F-16. Would Sweden license production to other European firms?

But the biggest problem would be cutting NATO from US manufacturers. What happens when US comes up with newer models and more than one aircraft at a time? Will the costs of these completely new planes prevent NATO from buying them (upgrades to current aircraft are less expensive)? It appears SAAB can only produce one model at a time.

To insure Sweden is able to continue building high-class aircraft, NATO should purchase a significant portion of its force from them, but the majority should come from European and US sources.
 

Berra

Sweden basicly has two options. A strong airforce or nukes. We can't afford both and we need one for protection. So if Sweden start reexamine this in public (which would be somewhat ASB), it would make some sence for NATO to promise to buy some planes to avoid nuclear proliferation.
 

Landshark

Prinz Richard Eugen said:
I see a problem. The Swedish areospace industry is not large enough to produce enough aircraft for NATO - even excluding the US, who would stick with the F-16. Would Sweden license production to other European firms?
Click to expand...

Why not? The F-16 was licenced in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Perhaps the way to get the Viggen into widespread service is to prevent the F-16 from being developed or exported leaving the F-5 as the only light to medium weight fighter the US has for export?
 
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