Foreign newspapers: Vietnam finds it difficult to buy Western fighters

Difficulties with the JAS-39 Gripen

Western media reported that since mid-2016, Vietnam has been in preliminary negotiations with the Swedish Saab group and the French Dassault to buy fighter jets.

This information is not too surprising because in 2016, Reuters also published information that Vietnam was negotiating to buy Gripen or Rafale aircraft from France to replace the MiG-21 fleet. However, Vietnam has not yet made any statement about this information.

However, according to National Interest's analysis, in case of choosing one of these two aircraft lines, Vietnam may encounter difficulties in the purchasing and using process.

In the case of the JAS-39 Gripen, this is a compact, high-performance, single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured in Sweden. The JAS-39 is designed with a pair of large delta wings and a European canard.

Rafale fighter.

The aircraft has the advantage of being very flexible, able to take off and land on a short runway of only 800m, and during combat it only takes a few minutes to refuel and re-arm before it can take off again.

Gripen is equipped with the most modern avionics systems from Sweden and Europe, notably the PS-05/A Doppler pulse radar from the Ericsson and GEC-Marconi joint venture with a maximum range of 120 km.

The technologies applied on the JAS-39 are 67% Swedish and European, the remaining 33% are American. The standard weapon configuration of the Gripen includes a 27mm Mauser BK-27 cannon, AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder and AGM-65 Maverich air-to-ground missiles.

The Gripen fighter jet with its compact, highly maneuverable, easy-to-use, and low-maintenance characteristics is an ideal candidate to replace the MiG-21. However, unfortunately, Vietnam will face the following obstacles if it intends to purchase this aircraft.

First of all, the aircraft uses Volvo Aero RM-12 engines purchased under copyright from the US and all weapons and equipment are according to US and NATO standards, making it impossible for Vietnam to access them while still under an embargo on lethal weapons. If converted to the Russian system, it would be extremely costly.

Furthermore, because the equipment on the aircraft comes from too many countries, it will be difficult for the country using it to repair and replace it. Although it is only a light fighter, the price of the JAS-39 is up to over 60 million USD, higher than the Su-30MK2 currently in service with the Vietnam Air Force.

Expensive French planes

As for the Rafale, this is a 4.5 generation, twin-engine, delta-wing multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France. It is also the most modern fighter currently used by the French Air Force.

The aircraft is equipped with the most modern avionics systems in the world today, especially the RBE2 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar capable of detecting stealth aircraft, along with the Spectra electronic warfare system, which is advertised to help the Rafale operate safely under enemy air defense fire.

With a superior aerodynamic design and the support of the canards, the Rafale can perform sudden turns in tight spaces. When maneuvering at supersonic speeds, the air passing over the wings will be compressed and create a curtain-like effect. The Rafale can also perform the "cobra" maneuver with the engine almost inactive.

Despite its modest size: 15.27m long; 10.8m wingspan; 5.34m high; empty weight 9,060 kg, Rafale is capable of carrying up to 9.5 tons of weapons including: air-to-air, air-to-ground, anti-radar, air-to-ship missiles, guided air bombs; operating range reaches 1,800 km. These parameters of Rafale are even superior to Russia's Su-30 heavy fighter.

Although Rafale has extremely superior combat capabilities, it can be said to be number 1 among current 4.5 generation fighter jets, its disadvantage is that its price is too high, up to over 125 million USD/unit, more than double that of Su-30MK2, so it is not suitable for equipping in large numbers to replace the light fighter role of MiG-21.