The lease project for 12 Gripen C/D aircraft expected to replace the MIRAGE F2000s while the first orders for the Gripen NG do not arrive (only in 2019) will not be carried out due to the economic adjustment that has reduced the FAB budget for the coming years. For now, the F-5 fighters continue to replace the Mirage F2000 even though it is inferior to the model it replaces.
“Faced with the current situation of fiscal adjustment, the air force command began to evaluate, as an alternative, the possibility of bringing the Gripen NG simulator flight forward, as a way of allowing pilots and mechanics to familiarize themselves with the new aircraft”, said by Brigadier Alvani Adão da Silva, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA).
In addition to pilot training itself, according to Alvani, the simulator will also allow for a better assessment of the new fighter's potential and even the possibility of suggesting changes to the platform, with a view to improving its performance.
The planning of renting some Gripen aircraft while orders did not arrive started last year between the Swedish government and the FAB seeing that the Mirage F2000 aircraft were decommissioned at the end of 2013, as the F-5 does not have the same capabilities then began to separate negotiation of the purchase agreement for the lease of aircraft. Brazil will be without a replacement at the height of the Mirage for approximately 5 years.
Regarding the financing contract for the fighter jets, the DCTA director said that any reduction achieved in interest rates is an effort being made to improve the country's fiscal situation. “This contract is as important for Brazil as it is for Sweden. I believe that both sides are in tune to seek a solution. For someone who has waited 18 years, an extra month or two makes no difference,” he said.
