Combat Aircraft Journal reports from Tampere as Saab outlines its offering for Finland’s HX fighter competition, and assesses the Swedish bid that many back as a potential winner.
THE FINNISH AIR Force (Ilmavoimat) wrapped up a round of evaluations in February under its so-called HX Challenge, which is part of the overall process to select a new fighter aircraft to replace its aging F/A-18C/D Hornets from 2025. Saab held a media briefing on January 30, the day before it began a week of HX evaluations at Pirkkala air base, near Tampere, in Finland.
The HX Challenge saw the five candidates (Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen, F-35A and F/A-18E/F/EA-18G) deploying in sequence to Pirkkala to fly missions alongside Finnish aircraft in diff erent combat scenarios. This was designed to allow each of the candidates to demonstrate the performance criteria outlined in the respective bid packages, and for the aircraft to handle a series of carefully planned exercises designed to evaluate specific attributes. These encompassed the full range of mission sets from close air support (CAS) to off ensive counter-air (OCA).
Saab’s HX Challenge window coincided with the timeline for all of the contenders to submit their respective…
