Vanguard Magazine

14 APRIL/MAY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com USD) which is likely closer to what Can- ada would pay as Austria doesn't have the initial program costs that the United Kingdom does, nor the costs incurred for quality issues requiring manufactur- ing changes that drove costs up further. For a 4th generation fighter that is still ten years behind in achieving its full list of capabilities, that's quite expensive. Factor in the need for upgrades like the Super Hornet, and one can see where things get really expensive. The Dassault Rafale is much more dif- ficult to pin down as true operating costs are hard to come by. It is widely known through various fighter competitions that it is indeed cheaper than the Typhoon with regards to CPFH (a big reason why India initially chose it), but given it has two engines, a sophisticated suite of sen- sors and electronic warfare elements, and it's somewhat limited in-terms of pro- duction numbers, the CPFH is likely in the $70,000 range as its Dassault stated CPFH is only a few thousand cheaper than the Typhoon and it also uses com- posites and similar structures. Consider- ing it's about to undergo a 6-year up- grade to make it more relevant in the 2025-time period and beyond, both CPFH and initial procurement costs will escalate noticeably. The Saab Gripen E is still in the early test stages, so attaching a CPFH of $4,700 based on a long-produced, more mature variant of the platform is quite a stretch. There is also the fact that, like the Super Hornet, the Gripen E has nev- er compared favorably to the Typhoon or Rafale yet – with regards to electronic warfare and avionics – and certainly not the F-35. Its production numbers will be somewhat limited as well. Its true CPFH would more likely be in the range of the F-16C – around $21,000 – as it is a much simpler airframe with some- what sophisticated electronic warfare el- ements. Given Saab has really striven for cheaper CPFH, I have given them the benefit of the doubt and lowered CPFH to the $17,500 – $18,500 range. Acquisition Costs Now I know many people's eyebrows have no doubt raised at the cost of the Gripen E, but since the C is quoted as anywhere from $20 – $60 million and the E is more advanced, there is no way it's going to cost just $60 million. Since companies like to use creative tactics with their projected numbers, it's also CoVer Figure 1: F-35 Cost (Unit) not an exact science – but I don't have any trouble believing its unit cost is in the range of the Super Hornet (Table 2). The F-35's cost is directly pulled from the unclassified DOD documents regard- ing the USAF acquisition cost as per 2020 (Figure 1). This includes airframe, engines, systems and other development costs. The export cost will likely be right around what Lockheed Martin has quoted for that time frame which is $90 million per airframe. The Rafale is presently sitting at $85 mil- lion per airframe as per the French MOD and will see its costs rise significantly in the next five to six years when Dassault finishes their major overhaul/upgrade of the Rafale. Expect a unit cost in the $130 – $140 mil- lion window as it will not be cheap to pay for. The Eurofighter Typhoon is pegged at $110.5 million as per several documents from European procurements, and it will also be in need of upgrades soon. The Cap- tor E radar, for example, is well behind schedule and will be one of several upgrades that increase the unit cost. The Gripen E will likely hover around the $70 million per unit cost which is indeed quite reasonable for a new aircraft. Where the issue comes in is the fact that Saab has an F variant which is said to be electronic warfare specific, and which requires a second pilot in the back to operate. This adds quite a bit of extra cost as you now have to pay for training, salary and benefits for another Item Acquisition Cost Per Unit (USD) Lockheed Martin F-35 $109.3 million Dassault Rafale C $85 million Eurofighter Typhoon $110.5 million Saab Gripen E $70 million Boeing F/A-18F $70.5 million Table 2: Acquisition Cost

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