The Swedish Armed Forces
will have to cut back on billions of kronor by next year if they want
to afford putting the new super jet JAS Gripen into production,
according to a report by national broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR).
The
military in March supported an earlier proposition voted through in the
Riksdag that Sweden should develop up to ten of the E/F model JAS.
But according to SR, the army
and the government in May received a cost prediction from the Saab
Defence Group, a figure reportedly way above what was expected.
In
January, SR reported that the expected price tag on the development of
the new super jet would reach the vicinity of 32-33 billion kronor
($4.7-4.8 billion), but this figure has allegedly since risen
significantly, according to the broadcaster.
This puts new strain
on an already stretched Swedish Armed Forces, which had already come to
the conclusion that economies have to be made and that policy decisions
about future cut-backs or more government hand-outs must be taken.
Several
sources have revealed to SR that the military on Monday will be
informing the government that billions of kronor must be cut back from
the development of other weapons systems planned for 2013 and 2014 to be able to afford developing the new super jet.
At the same time, the army has long warned that several other weapons systems are in crucial need of updating.
Lieutenant
General Jan Salestrand of the Swedish Armed Forces was unwilling to
disclose any particulars but told SR that it is a complicated situation.
“An upgrade is necessary if we want to have an air force
system in the 2020s and toward 2030 to equal the development in the
rest of the world. At the same time, from the military’s point of view,
it cannot be done at any price,” he told the broadcaster.
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