"Swedish defense prime Saab is exploring the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System as a cheaper armament option for its JAS 39 Gripen fighters, firm executives told Business Insider this week. "The APKWS is in interest because other platforms are now integrating 70mm guided rockets. So we are, of course, eyeing that capability now," Jussi Halmetoja, operations advisor for Saab's air domain, said at the Singapore Airshow. Halmetoja said the company was looking at ways to integrate the weapons system, which uses a guided version of the Hydra 70mm rocket, onto its older Gripen C and latest Gripen E models."
"He made the comments as he and Mikael Franzén, chief marketing officer for the Gripen program, discussed the company's observation from the Ukraine war that it needs more inexpensive weapons to counter uncrewed aerial systems. "I mean, right now we are using very expensive weapons to kill very cheap drones," Franzén said of traditional Western air combat. He added that Saab is hoping to potentially equip the Gripen with systems that can fit multiple munitions onto a single hardpoint. "If you can have four or 10 on each hardpoint, then you can kill a lot more drones," Franzén said. The APWKS is typically mounted on aircraft with multilaunch pods."
Saab is exploring integration of the APKWS guided 70mm rocket onto JAS 39 Gripen C and E fighters as a lower-cost weapon option. APKWS uses a laser-guided version of the Hydra 70mm rocket and is typically deployed from multilaunch pods. The move responds to observed needs for cheaper munitions to counter uncrewed aerial systems, where expensive air-to-air weapons are inefficient against inexpensive drones. Saab is considering solutions that allow multiple munitions per hardpoint to increase saturation against swarms. Kyiv has signed a letter of intent for up to 150 Gripen E fighters, and Ukraine operates F-16s from small dispersed airfields.
Read at Business Insider
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