Airforces

Right: A pair of armed Slovakian

MiG-29s departs Sliač on

September 1. Alan Warnes

36 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Intel

Report

service life extended to 12,000

hours compared with the 8,000

hours on current F-16 fleets.

The Slovak order for Block 70s

is the second, after Bahrain.

The Gulf state ordered 16 – the

first is expected to roll off the

Greenville line in December 2021.

The decision came as major

blow to Saab. The company had

hoped Slovakia would join the

Czech Republic and Hungary as

NATO Gripen operators. Part of

Lockheed’s success might be due

to the foothold it already has in

Eastern Europe. Poland acquired

48 new F-16C/D Block 52s

between 2006 and 2009 that work

alongside the Polish Fulcrums,

while Romania opted for 12

ex-Portuguese Air Force F-16AM/

BMs. Croatia has also selected

12 ex-Israeli Air Force F-16C/Ds –

although no contract has yet been

signed – to replace its MiG-21s.

Slovakia ruled out a second-

hand purchase, which was

complex and might not yield

deliveries until 2026.

Additionally, Slovakia

didn’t want to be left looking for

another replacement after the

second-hand aircraft ran out of

useful life 15 years down the line.

Slovakia wasn’t interested in

acquiring the Dassault Rafale,

Eurofighter Typhoon or Lockheed

Martin F-35 Lightning II, either.

It claimed the operational and

tactical capabilities, as well

as operational costs of these

aircraft, far

outweighed the

needs of the

armed forces.

Slovakia’s evaluation

For Saab, the sting in the

tail of the Slovak decision

was the publication of the

fighter evaluation report.

The defence ministry’s report

claims: “The JAS 39C/D has

reached its peak of technical

possibilities,” adding that “because

Saab plans to launch serial

production of the E/F version

in the future, the C/D version is

not subject to modernisation”.

Speaking exclusively to AFM,

Saab’s Mats Thorbjörnsson,

an experimental test pilot

and part of Gripen Product

Management, said he was

“astonished” by the Slovak MoD’s

reasoning. “It is not true at all.

“When it comes to the C/D we

have an extensive development

plan. Saab plans to keep the

Gripen C relevant until 2050. The

Swedish Air Force has made

indications they will operate the

C/D for many years. In fact, the

development plan and road map

were presented to the Slovak

MoD in May – that’s why we were

so surprised by the comment.”

The Slovak defence ministry

report also contends that:

“Compared to the F-16 Block

70/72, the JAS 39C/D has a

lower weapon payload, lower fuel

capacity, shorter tactical flight

range, lower flight endurance,

lower RoC [rate of climb] and

significantly lower acceleration.”

It also adds: “the aircraft avionics

(older generation radar, early

warning system, and aircraft

protection components) are older,

meaning that they no longer

meet the needs of current and

future airborne operations.”

Thorbjörnsson responded: “We

think we have a proven track

record and the Gripen C/D

Bulgaria’s MiG-29s were delivered

between June 1989 and September 1990.

The 18 single-seaters and four dual-

seaters went through a communication,

navigation and identification upgrade

plus a service-life extension between

August 2006 and June 2009.

Late last year the Bulgarian defence

ministry announced that 15 aircraft

were in active service, but only seven

• including a two-seater – were
  kept serviceable. Are all operated
  by the 1/3 Iztrebitelna Avio Eskadrila
  (1/3 Fighter Aviation Squadron) at
  the 3. Iztrebitelna Aviobaza (IAB, 3rd
  Fighter Air Base) Graf Ignatievo.
  A replacement is now urgently
  being sought under the two-phased
  Armed Forces Development Plan. The

first phase, covering eight fighters,

is budgeted at €768m, and led to a

request for proposals (RFP) being

issued by the Bulgarian government

on June 29; all submissions are to

be received by October 1. The jets

should be delivered 24 months after

the contract signature. In 2020-

21 a second phase will procure

a further batch of eight fighters,

after a similar selection process.

Bulgaria launched requests for

information (RFI) to replace the MiG-

29s in 2011, 2013 and 2016. Saab

offered the Gripen, Portugal was willing

to sell some of its F-16s and Italy

offered surplus Eurofighter Tranche 1s.

Saab was the preferred option during

the initial bidding process. However,

in September last year a parliamentary

committee recommended that the

competition should be relaunched.

Although there had been two previous

RFIs on which to base the shortlist,

it was deemed too limited and new

offers should include second-hand

aircraft. According to reports in

Bulgaria the defence ministry has

called for bids to supply aircraft from

the United States (F-16 Block 70),

Portugal (F-16AM/BM), Israel (F-16C/D),

Italy (Typhoon), Germany (Eurofighter),

France (Rafale), Boeing (F/A-18)

and Sweden (Gripen). In addition to

the airframes, the budget includes

the acquisition of role equipment,

weapons and refurbishment/

improvement at Graf Ignatievo.

Bulgaria

Above: Between 2006 and 2009, Bulgaria’s MiG-29 fl eet was partially refurbished and life-extended to 40 years of

calendar service by RSK MiG, under a contract valued at around €31m (equating to $48m at the time). Alexander Mladenov

34-38 Intel AFM Oct2018.indd 36 9/10/2018 12:07:53 PM