• GingaNinga@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    I’ve been commenting on a bunch of threads the best way to deal with a bully is to tell them to fuck off and go play with everyone else in the playground. Glad we’re taking the first few steps in the right direction.

    • assaultpotato@sh.itjust.works
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      6 hours ago

      To be fair, we’ve manufactured a lot of parts for other country’s F35s so far. That’s quite standard for defense contracts. Still, if Saab commits to bringing more guaranteed manufacturing jobs than the F35 program, it could be worth it. If this gives us a leg up in F35 manufacturing bids, that could also be worth it. Feels like a strong play regardless of outcome.

  • panda_abyss@lemmy.ca
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    5 hours ago

    Now that the US is sending them to Saudi, how secure will they be from investigation by foreign adversaries?

    Plus, the entire supply chain system of relying on the US for software and hardware updates, having to physically send the planes to the US for maintenance, all while the US continues to talk about annexing us is completely fucking bonkers.

    Even without the annexation threats the setup would be stupid.

    I know it’s a fancy and advanced plane, but knowing how the US military industrial complex works I’m pretty sure you’re paying a high multiplier for no reason too.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        There have been no confirmed downings of F-35’s.

        While it’s fully possible that the US is lying about that, it’s equally possible that the claims from Iran are also lies, because half of military action is information and misinformation. I wouldn’t lean on foreign propaganda any more than I would domestic propaganda.

  • mysticpickle@lemmy.ca
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    6 hours ago

    The Gripen is certainly not as advanced as F-35 but its operating costs per flight hour are only 1/5th of the F-35 which is definitely a big consideration when you don’t have a US-sized defense budget.

  • potatoguy@lemmy.eco.br
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    5 hours ago

    The Gripen is quite interesting, who would have guessed that licensing fighter jets for manufacturing on other countries (Embraer is building them too, Colombia bought some, other countries seem to want it too) would be a good strategy?

    I’ll wait 50 years for a Gripen to be sold on Aliexpress for 150 thousand dollars, 250 thousand with replacement parts with a cool paint job.