Gripens not coming!

It was with a heavy heart that it was revealed recently that Saab wouldn’t be sending any Gripens to Aero India 2009. When you consider the reception they got in February 2007, it’s a little bizarre that they chose not to bring a few back this year. The rationale was that they preferred to save the jets for the IAF’s MMRCA flight evaluations (since ferrying a few fighters over from Sweden is a hugely expensive exercise). But still, memories of that delectable planform ripping big holes in the sultry Yelahanka sky are bound to linger. The feisty little fighter garnered a huge fan following from folks who knew nothing about the jet, and the people at Saab gleefully handed out heaps and heaps of lovely merchandise to all and sundry. Really wish the jets were coming back. They will be missed. Badly.

29 thoughts on “Gripens not coming!”

  1. shiv! do you have any inkling about how these swedes screwed up LCA MMR as consultants! if you know their way of working as consultants,you wont write such nicities about gripen!

  2. if the LCA had chosen those sqaure intakes we would have by now stopped buying fighters……..but the french snechma made a big fool of ADA…………

  3. You are absolutely right . This plane is the right replacement for the Mig 21’s and should have been purchased in good numbers as the immediate need is for a good point defense fighter instead of Multi Role blah blah.

    Meanwhile can someone tell me how does a Non Bangalorean manage to get a few air show tickets easily ? Much Obliged .

  4. You came to know of this today??? This was revealed on Jan 27 to us, while you guys were eating chai-biskoot with US Top Gun Admiral.

    Fool…idiot…after 10 days you put up a story

  5. read the first line of the article you arsehole. it says “recently”. stop sucking sour grapes because you weren’t one of the people eating chai biskoot with the superb top gun admiral.

  6. When am I disputing recently, but why after 10 days? While Shiv knew earlier itself…not interested in chai biskoot with US Admiral, you last anon, as we got a five-star meal in Le Meridian from Gripen-Saab…fools

  7. Ya the chances of gripen winning the MCRA is low…they seem to have realised that.
    In this time of recession they are saving money i guess

    More over they screwed up LCA.

    and

    OMG….why are you so hostile to this poor blogger …this is his personal blog…..he will write what ever he wants..

  8. y rafale is not here because french know indian beurocracy very well and there is no meaning to send their aircraft for competition which takes years.

    no other country takes this long for defence procurement like our govt. does

    atleast gripen team saved their money by not sending their aircraft

  9. yeah go for single seater sukhois, twin seaters are of no use………….even in MMRCA go for single seater aircraft………….

  10. “the people at Saab gleefully handed out heaps and heaps of lovely merchandise to all and sundry”
    ———————————-
    shiv is sad coz he won’t be getting free chai-biscoot from the SAAB stall this year.

  11. anon @ 7:30pm wrote:
    “if the LCA had chosen those sqaure intakes we would have by now stopped buying fighters……..but the french snechma made a big fool of ADA…………”

    that news is 100% correct….i can confirm that as someone who has been associated with the program for sometime…..some of you might be surprised to know that the original LCA design incorporated the use of box intakes….and the frenchies redesigned it to suit their tastes at our expense….no wonder our a/c ,which was designed to reach Mach 2.2 ,just manages to reach M 1.8…
    Now compare the intakes of the older hornet and the new one…and you get the picture.

  12. bobs do i know you?? aneways you know what the gossips were around those days, regarding the reason what french gave for using square intakes….aesthetic sense…..see the intakes of a jet is like the human nose therefore it should also be curved….ofcourse real reason was something else………

    hehe…….
    im annon @7:30

  13. Shouldnt you check up on what has happened about the demands made by the armed forces about rectifying the anomalies introduced by the 6th CPC and the committee of secretaries?

    He who indulges in activities which lower the morale of our armed forces, which sap them of their will and motivation, is doing the work of the enemy. I say again, he IS the enemy. He is a traitor who wishes to weaken the sword arm of his nation.

    Note that I dont say those who criticise the military.

    But those who have struck this blow against the armed forces are traitors, and motivated by something other than just organisational jealousy: anti-nationalism.

    They should be found- and exposed.

  14. left wing nut job

    Frenchies also screwed themselves by not incorporating the box intakes on the Rafale.

    The delays in the LCA project is everyone else’s fault but India’s…

  15. eric jose @ 2:40
    have you worked @ ARDC,B'lore or Aerospace div,HAL?

    pratik das @12:46pm
    u cannot simply change the design of a jet intake in the middle of the project….the jet intake is one of the most important part of an a/c…it actually guides the mass of airflow into the engine & around the fuselage..the size of its mouth determines the mass of air entering the diffuser at any given point of time; and hence the entire performance of an a/c revolves around it….to re-design it means you have to start all over again….Maybe they can do this in the tranche 2 of the LCA.

  16. Bobs, its ridiculously obvious that we are prepared to go to the extent of completely replacing the LCA F404 engine with the F414 or EJ200 engines, so we shouldn’t have gripes over redesigning the intakes should we?

  17. It is not of much concern that Gripen is not arriving in India. I think the ADA must use this golden opportunity to display more aerobatics by all the Tejas’ variants and to “drive home” the point, that Tejas is equivalent to the Gripen, and hence an eligible MRCA contender too.

    Thank you.

  18. Hmm… my comment wasn't published for some reason, but here is my second try…

    Bobs said>> Now compare the intakes of the older hornet and the new one…and you get the picture.

    Also, completely disregard the fact that the Super Hornet has more powerful engines that produce 27% more dry thrust and 22% more thrust on afterburner. Also disregard the fact that the Super Hornet does *not* have a top speed that is higher than that of the old Hornet.

    Then, go on to draw irrational conclusions about how the LCA would have had a higher top speed if the ADA had designed it with rectangular air intakes instead of oval, because the F/A-18E/F, which also has rectangular intakes, does not have the advantage of higher top speed over its counterpart with oval intakes. All the while, pretend that top speed is the be all and end all of air combat.

    Now pretend that this line of reasoning is perfectly logical, and go on to curse the DRDO because it is full of incompetent buffoons who were fooled by the duplicitous French into designing a sub-standard fighter.

  19. Mihir @ 12:30am
    when did I curse DRDO,son? Why should I curse something for WHICH I HAVE SHED MY SWEAT AND BLOOD?….
    the fact is:
    1) the original design had bigger box intakes.
    2) size and shape of the jet intakes determine the performance of an aircraft…(basic jet propulsion stuff ;taught in colleges)
    3) I worked on a similar program where it was found that use of box intakes resulted in overall increase in efficiency.
    4) frenchies had dubious intentions …but sad to say some of our folks have the hereditary practice of jumping up and down when gora gives gyaan….its another matter of fact if the gyaan holds water or not.

    one more thing, I can arrange someone from GTRE for an audience with you.anytime.kindly inform.

  20. dudes……..square is more space efficient than a curve- in the sense- less space more crossectional area…..just saying it using layman’s knowledge, never was in my domain of engineering…….but i have heard from authoritative sources during my stint at HAL about the blunders that happened while making the LCA……….

    ……bobs im a ex-HAL engineer….. worked for a year without being used, it was like they gave a me job without knowing where i was required….no training nothing…..i quit to join NTPC for a couple of years and left the engineering field forever…..now soon would be commercial pilot with deccan express logistics was in Jet Airways before….

  21. Bobs,

    If you didn’t mean to look for an excuse to demean DRDO, what was the point of your comment, uncle?

    If you truly have shed your sweat and blood developing the LCA, then I expect you to make such comments. Sure, the size and shape of the intake affect performance, but it is more important to match the intake size and shape to the engine, rather than just blindly design a massive intake. And I’m sure you know that “performance” includes a host of abilities, with top speed seldom being at the top of the list. The LCA is highly maneuverable, and it seems like “chase aircraft (Jaguar and MiG-21 trainers) found it difficult to keep pace or catch up with the Tejas after take off”. There are several fighter planes with round or oval intakes in service – they work just fine.

    And please don’t compare the intakes of the Tejas with those of the F-18. The Super Hornet has newer engines with ~27% greater thrust – the larger rectangular intakes were designed to meet the increased flow requirements of the new engine. They do not increase the top speed of the aircraft.

Leave a Reply to Eric jose Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Scroll to Top