I've had to go through this whole conversation again so that I could wrap my head around.
Though that's what they've actually did? (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/saab-jas-39a-b-c-d-gripen.37320/post-461254)
Swedish government foot the bill to produce more than 200 Gripens, of which a huge number was planes that the Flygvapnet didn't even need in the era of peace dividens, and was produced solely for the sake of keeping domestic arms and aerospace industry afloat.
Even then, this was met with a lot of criticism. As you'll be able to see, by 2014 32 were dismantelled after being cannibalized for parts and 24 were pending its future. More recently SAAB offered PAF 14 aircrafts out of this surplus for the price of 12.
It is simply naive and unrealistic to think that there was any chance that Sweden would have been able to afford more than whay they've already funded.
They seem to be pretty confident to my eyes, especially since their decades-long investments are now finally coming to fruition in recent years with them able to field an actually operable military engines.
More like just British radar, since you know that PS-05/A has its roots in Edinbrugh and Erricson.
BAe Replica is much more closer to the Japanese X-2 than it will ever be to the KF-21, and once more, it's a bad analogy.
That's what I'm saying though. Gripen and other jets are different classes of fighters and although we see SAAB entering international fighter jet competition with their much more under-weight candidate, this light weight is not what air forces actually want, especially for the price.
Dead is the word you'd use when there is no activity, ability whatsoever left in the industry to support its future plans and activities. It is very much too early to call SAAB that way, and being "stuck" and "dead" are certainly very different from one another.
The real question is if Gripen was supposed to compete in this market segment in the first place. Ever since the LWF resulted in F-16 and YF-17, this seems to be the weight class of fighters that most countries have in mind when it comes to "lo" of the hi-lo mix, bar the exception of Mirage 2000. The reality is that every other truly light weight fighters since the F-16, starting from F-20 to Tejas, FA-50 and JF-17, are all much less capable but also much cheaper option. Even then the F-20 failed (we've already had the discussion about it before) and others are basically competing in a different market segment as to Gripen. This problem was only coumpounded ever since Gripen evolved into NG. Both the unit and program cost, especially the latter, is virtually the same compared to the likes of F-16V.
This is also the reason SAAB usually focuses on the TLCC, but the thing is, most emerging markets/developing countries, which should be the biggest market for Gripen, are more concerned about the cash they've got in hand right now, rather than what they will have going forward. Long-term planning is often lacking in those countries, and the nature of "developing" countries is that they are often hopeful that their growing economy will be able to fund the more expensive LCC in the future.
Then the developed countries most of the times prefer bigger platforms, and as I've said, current bottom line seems to be F-16 sized jets. So the Gripen is wrong size, wrong cost and is competing in the wrong market.
The thing is, SAAB was very much enthusiastic in participating in KF-X, although this never materialized. Even then they were involved in the radar development in assistance providers and I see the potential for Sweden to be developmental partner for future Block 3, which is currently planned to be developed by 2033 and a new next-generation fighter that will follow, often dubbed the KF-XX. Indonesia is currently only contracted to be program partners until block I development. They were supposed to continue participating in the program during production, but their reluctance in continuing their support got themselves removed from the KF-21 supply chain. So I think Sweden participating in KF-X block III or KF-XX can very much be a possibility.
