Hello. I am wondering which Gripen to get. I am in position to immediately get either the Swedish A or British C once the update drops. I know the current planes are roughly equivalent, but my question is more toward which one will be the better investment based on follow-on variants.
Basically, I know the Swedes will get their C version in the first patch next year…it seems like this may bring an AMRAAM capable C variant (maybe). After that, obviously the Swedes would be in line for the Gripen E, also known as NG I think which would align more with the Rafale and Eurofighter.
For the Brits/South African tree…do you think their C version will become AMRAAM capable in the next update or two or will this Gripen C remain as is and then the Brits move onto early Eurofighters to gain their AMRAAM or AMRAAM equivalent jet?
I do not really want to get both Gripens, so trying to decide. Any help is appreciated.
We never actually got a look at the C on the dev server. So its impossible to know for certain what the differences will be. But based upon statements to date. Im imagining both airframes to be almost identical, with no clear advantage to one or the other. Which does leave your decision entirely for the future.
I strongly suspect that the reason for Sweden not getting the Gripen C this update, is because it will be their first AMRAAM carrier when they arrive. Now I do not know whether Britains Gripen C will get the same upgrade, as we have 2 possible aircraft besides the Gripen C to reiceve AMRAAM on (Sea Harrier FA2 and Tornado F3 AoP) , they may chose to leave it with its current loadout. (SAAF was strictly speaking IR only on their Gripen)
After that, you are correct. I am hoping for Typhoon within the next 6-9 months for Britain, with other additions being more Tornados and Harriers in the meantime. Sweden will likely continue to recieve more Gripens in the future, with a possible Finnish F-18 as an alternative.
Until tomorrow and we get a definitive answer on the difference, and as we have no idea if the Gripen C will come to Sweden with ARH in March (AMRAAM may come later) then the best advice I can give is to base your decision on what other aircraft you want to fly in the future. If you prefer the Gripens. Then Id go Sweden as they’ll eventually get much better Gripens. If you want a mix of airframes, including aircraft like the Typhoon. Then Probably Britain.
Thanks! That was very helpful. I think I may just go the Swedish route for the more pure Gripen path for now. I will wait to see what happens in the British tree and only get that SAAF Gripen C if I am forced to in order to get the Eurofighter Typhoon down the road, which is the real British top tier jet I am waiting for (along with the French Rafale).