Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[Bofferbrauer2]

BFR said:

Qwark said:

The Gripen can land and fly from improvised runways, has better sensors, electronic warfare and sensors. It's also able to shoot a lot of missiles (Taurus/Meteor), not only American ones, which Trump may not want to sell.

For Ukraine the Gripen E is a solid option. It doesn't have to compete with the F22 or F35. Also it being cheaper to fly is nice. Also can the F16 outmanoeuvre the Meteor, which is fired beyond visual range.

None of that means Jack squat.

It's not about which plane is newer or has better sensors.

It's about which plane has a better COMBAT history.

If I was a military pilot, I would take the Fighting Falcon over the Gripen, in a heartbeat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen#Operational_history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon_operational_history

I guess we need to equip our armies with German Tiger I tanks, as they have been used extensively and the best kill ratio of any tanks who were used extensively.

Seriously, the Combat history would mean anything if they were fighting against foes with similar weaponry - but in most of their operational cases, the opponents didn't have ANY AA capabilities. It's actually more of an disgrace that 3 got downed in Irak from early 1960's soviet SAMs over Irak, which were built for defense against slower, less agile planes, and the main reason that Ukraine doesn't use them all that much is that against Russian planes, which are much more modern and numerous than what F-16s have encountered in all their lifetime before, effectively are much more powerful.