Saab Gripen gets ahead in the Philippines’ bid for a new fighter

The Philippines and Sweden signed a defense memorandum of understanding (MoU) that could pave the way for the incorporation of the Saab Gripen into the Philippine Air Force.

As reported by The Inquirer, Acting Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation that will allow Swedish companies to participate in the various modernization programs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly on the priorities of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to boost its surveillance and interdiction capabilities.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is conducting a multi-role fighter (MRF) acquisition program, in which the Swedish (Gripen) and U.S. (F-16) bids were the finalists, prevailing over bids from India (HAL Tejas) and China (JF-17 Thunder).

Second-hand fighters for a tight budget

In the past the U.S. had offered Manila a dozen brand new F-16 Block 70s for approximately $2.43 billion, but former Philippine National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had dismissed the offer as too expensive, so other options were sought. The solution was to acquire second-hand modernized aircraft.

Stockholm’s offer is for a batch of Gripen C and D fighters (single-seat and two-seat) upgraded with fifth-generation electronics, whose unofficial designation is standard “C+”. The aircraft could be second-hand, or perhaps even newly manufactured, such as those offered to Croatia for the replacement of its MiG-21s (a contract that would eventually be won by the Dassault Rafale F3).

Washington’s proposal would be based on the F-16 Block 50/52, upgraded to the Viper standard, which puts them at about the same level as the Block 70.

Stephen Parreño, head of the Philippine Air Force, led a small delegation to Sweden from May 24-28, where he met with Swedish Air Force commanders and visited Saab’s facilities to learn about the JAS-39 fighter jets and Saab 340 early warning and control aircrafts (AEW&C).

On the Saab 340 AEW (Swedish designation S 100D Argus), Sweden currently has two operational units, out of the 4 originally acquired, so Stockholm’s offer could include the recovery of the two aircraft that are no longer in use, and eventually the transfer of all Saab 340 AEWs, when the Swedish Air Force replaces them with the GlobalEye.