Races for military supremacy often end up following a very narrow definition of what really constitutes “better.” The competition between nations for the best fighter jet is no exception.
The core elements of speed, maneuverability, and firepower have for decades been the primary focus of governments and defense manufacturers. In the more recent period, after the era of fifth-generation fighters commenced, stealth became the big buzz word. Of course it is not by accident that these qualities are at the forefront of every discussion on airpower. Pilots want planes that can out-run, out-fly, and out-gun their opponents. They also want to avoid being detected by the enemy both on the ground and in the sky. Thus the development of warplanes has followed more or less a steady pattern for many years.
But once in a while, a non-conventional idea comes along that could reshape the way strategists and tacticians think about supremacy. And it is always a good idea to be on the lookout for those.
Recently the chief of Sweden’s air force, Mats Helgesson made some rather bold statements on the capabilities of his country’s premier fighter, the Gripen E. At a presentation in Finland, Helgesson asserted that the Gripen fighter could beat Russia’s formidable fleet of Sukhoi jets, the fighters that have achieved a kind of legendary status for their ability to out-maneuver even U.S. jets in dogfights and pull off dangerous and aggressive stunts. “Gripen is designed to kill Sukhois. There we have a black belt,” claimed Helgesson.
Electronic Warfare, the Ace in the Hole
The Gripen models have been around for the better part of four decades. Sweden began developing them in the late 1970s as an alternative to the costly, high-maintenance fighters being cranked out by other Western powers. Gripens have been deployed to the farthest flung corners of the globe, from Canada to Indonesia, from Brazil to the Philippines. Thus Gripen has seen quite a number of variants. But it wasn’t till the recent period that the fighter became a sort of test-run for a new approach to achieving enemy kills. The new Gripen can’t carry the most weapons and has no real stealth. And it is neither the longest-range nor fastest fighter. But it has a singular focus that makes it a nightmare for adversary jets. Some fighters were built around engines. Some around missiles. The Gripen E was built around an electronic warfare (EW) system.
Essentially, Gripen designers at Saab Manufacturers put all their eggs in one basket. They skimped on the more traditional elements like firepower and engine strength. But what they did produce was quite the menu of EW capabilities. Already last year, Saab began to report on many of Gripen’s new tricks such as the fighter’s jammer pod. Reportedly, Gripens are able to counter advanced-radar systems that can allow an entire strike formation to go completely unseen upon approach. This achieves the same outcome as stealth technology but from a different angle, namely disrupting and confusing enemy systems. Advanced jamming techniques such as “smart noise” and “coherent false targets” can make Gripens impossible to detect. Moreover, these disruption tools can be “aimed” at specific targets, focusing the effect on specific enemy targets. Perhaps more important than the jamming pod is that the fighter’s radar detection capabilities (the tools used to identify incoming enemy aircraft) are reportedly at the cutting edge of the industry. A brilliant decision on the part of Gripen E’s designers was to make the aircraft’s EW system adaptable to technological advancement. The EW system is software upgradable, which means it can evolve with threats over time. Currently, the plan is to update the software on the Gripen E every two years.
The latest reports on how Gripen stacks up against other fighters is impressive. Helgesson related one story about how during a training session a Gripen pilot was able to appear on the left wing of a German Typhoon without being detected.
There is yet to be any hard data on how Gripens would be able to take on the Sukhois they were apparently designed to take on. But one thing is certain, the Swedes have taken a unique route at achieving supremacy in the sky, one that may actually pay off.
