Gripen vs Eurofighter
JAS 39 Gripen vs Eurofighter Typhoon
Comments of readers (Feel free to leave a reply on bottom)
1. Bearing in mind that the Gripen can take off AND land in 600m, be refueled and rearmed in ten minutes by 1 technician and 5 conscripts, and can operate from country roads; whereas it takes the Eurofighter 300m take off and well over 900m to land, takes at least twenty minutes to refuel and rearmed by a team of 10 specialists, and has to operate from prepared airfields, the Gripen has a major advantage!
2. JAS-39C/D is cleared for the Meteor missile same as the Typhoon. Fact is, The JAS-39C/D was the very first fighter into which the Meteor was integrated. This could possibly affect the BVR rating as well, but in that aspect I don’t know enough about other factors taken into consideration to comment.
Second would be maneuverability, I would be very much surprised if the JAS-39C/D turned(!) out to be less maneuverable than the Typhoon. Quite the contrary, given the size and wing loading of the two.
3. There are a few big points that should be pointed out. The Gripen costs 1/2 of that of the EF. the EF may be ‘superior’ to the Gripen, but not twice as good, the Gripen is older than the EF. updating the tech in the Gripen would close the gap in capabilities… but also the gap in cost, the Gripen was build by Sweden (with a total population of 8.5 million). where as the EF was built by UK, Germany, Italy and Spain (France left the group to build the Rafale).
Gripen vs Eurofighter Flight Cost Per Hour
Overall and BVR ratings
| CATEGORY | SAAB JAS 39 GRIPEN | EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| BVR Rating | 81% | 91% |
| Armament | 8.0/10 | 8.5/10 |
| Technology | 8.0/10 | 8.8/10 |
| Avionics | 7.9/10 | 8.6/10 |
| Maneuverability | 9.0/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Rate of Climb | max. 300 m/s – 55k ft/min | max. 315 m/s – 65k ft/min |
| Thrust/Weight | 1.02 | 1.15 |
| Service Ceiling | 16 km – 50k ft | 20 km – 65k ft |
| Speed | 2.00 Mach | 2.35 Mach |
| Fuel Economy | 1.06 km/l – 2.49 NM/gallon | 0.68 km/l – 1.60 NM/gallon |
| Unit Cost | 45.000.000 USD | 175.000.000 USD |
| Overall Rating | very good | excellent |
BVR (Beyond Visual Range) Ratings
| CATEGORY | JAS-39 GRIPEN | EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| BVR AAM missile | MBDA Meteor | MBDA Meteor |
| AAM origin | NATO | NATO |
| Year | in 2013 | in 2013 |
| Range (mile) | 62 | 62 |
| Range (km) | 100 | 100 |
| Speed (mph) | 2640 | 2640 |
| Speed (km/h) | 4248 | 4248 |
| Radar | Raven ES-05 | Euroradar CAPTOR |
| Radar overall rating | very good | excellent |
| BVR Technology | 80% | 87% |
| BVR Def. Tech. | 79% | 85% |
| RCS – Radar Cross Section | 0.5-1.5 | 0.5-2.0 |
Dogfight (close to medium range) Ratings
| CATEGORY | JAS-39 GRIPEN | EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| Cannon | Mauser BK-27 | Mauser BK-27 |
| Caliber (mm) | 27 mm | 27 mm |
| Rate of Fire (rpm) | 1700 rpm | 1700 rpm |
| Muzzle Velocity | 1025 m/s | 1025 m/s |
| Size Point 10%-30% | 30% | 20% |
| Maneuverability | 9.0 | 9,5 |
| Thrust/Weight Ratio | 1.02 | 1,15 |
| AAM (first) | MBDA MICA | AIM-132 ASRAAM |
| Operational range | 0.2 – 50 km | 0.3 – 50 km |
| AAM (second) | IRIS-T | IRIS-T |
| Operational range | 0.5 – 30 km | 0.5 – 30 km |
| Dogfight Rating | 74% | 75% |
Size Comparison
| CATEGORY | JAS-39 GRIPEN | EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON |
| Length | 14.10 m – 46 ft 3 in | 15.95 m – 52 ft 4 in |
| Wingspan | 8.40 m – 27 ft 7 in | 10.95 m – 35 ft 9 in |
| Wing area | 30.1 m² (325 sq ft) | 51.2 m² (551 sq ft) |
| Height | 4.50 m – 14 ft 9 in | 5.30 m – 17 ft 3 in |
| Weight | 6,800 kg – 12,6k lb | 11,150 kg – 24,6k lb |
| Power | 1 x 80 kN – 18k lbf | 2 x 89 kN 20k lbf |