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https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... -saab-105s07 July 2020
Austria to retain Eurofighters, retire Saab 105s
by Gareth Jennings
Austria is to retain its Eurofighter combat aircraft in service
at the same time as retiring its Saab 105 jet trainers,
the country’s defence minister announced.
Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said on 6 July 2020
that the Austrian Air Force’s (Osterreichische Luftstreitkrafte) 15 Tranche 1 Eurofighters will remain
until at least as long as the current contract with Airbus runs,
while its 12-remaining Saab 105OEs will be withdrawn from 2021 as pilot training moves overseas.
Austria has for some years been looking to retire the Eurofighters it bought in 2003 for EUR1.75 billion (USD2.7 billion at the time),
and replace them with a cheaper to operate aircraft.
Although already truncated from a planned 24 (with options up to 30) aircraft for cost reasons,
the deal was the largest procurement in the country’s history.
Added to this initial outlay were persistent complaints from senior air force officials
that operating costs were too high to sustain operations
(USD73,000 per hour was one figure given, although this was disputed by Eurofighter).
According to national media,
Tanner has decided to retain the Eurofighters it received between 2007 and 2009
as it would be prohibitively expensive to withdraw from the contract with Airbus
(though the minister did not disclose when this contract is scheduled to terminate).
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aust ... SKBN24721N
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aust ... SKBN24721NJuly 6, 2020 / 5:39 PM / 2 days ago
Austria to phase out its Saab 105 fighter jets, no decision on successor
Austria will ground its nearly 50-year-old Saab fighter jets at the end of the year
and solely rely on its Eurofighter warplanes from January 2021,
the defence ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said it would not decide on any successor to the Saab fighter jets
until it knows the outcome of a court appeal concerning Eurofighter,
triggering sharp criticism from the opposition parties.
“The Republic of Austria will continue to pursue all legal means to achieve the goal of withdrawing from the Eurofighter contract and being compensated by Eurofighter,”
Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said.
“Pending the final court decision,
no decisions will be taken with regard to air surveillance that would weaken Austria’s position.”
Austria is involved in a legal dispute with the Eurofighter consortium,
which includes Airbus, Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo,
over its nearly 2 billion euro ($2.3 billion) purchase in 2003.
The defence ministry said in 2017
it believed Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium had misled Austria
over the purchase price, deliverability and equipment of the jets, accusations the consortium denies.
A Vienna court stopped a related investigation in April 2020, which the state appealed.
A broader criminal investigation of suspected bribery in the same deal that has been ongoing since 2011 has not been affected by the closure.
“From Airbus’ perspective, nothing has changed in this matter,” the company said,
adding it viewed demands for reparation or reversal of the delivery contract as “not founded on any legal basis”.
Neutral Austria currently operates 12 Saab 105 aircraft alongside its 15 Eurofighter jets.
Army representatives have long warned that it is getting harder to guarantee full security as investment decisions have been repeatedly delayed.
Opposition parties criticised the defence minister.
“With her decision for a single-fleet Eurofighter system,
Tanner is making herself fully dependent on the Eurofighter manufacturer Airbus and the NATO,”
said Robert Laimer, defence spokesman for the Social Democrats.
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https://www.defense-aerospace.com/artic ... -case.html
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https://orf.at/stories/3172448/
Die nicht ausreichend ausgerüsteten 15 Eurofighter fliegen somit weiter,
die Saab 105 sind ab 2021 aus Altersgründen nicht mehr im Betrieb.
Die schwedischen Trainingsjets sind fast 50 Jahre alt.
Von den urspünglich 40 gekauften Saab 105 sind noch zwölf im Einsatz.
In der Praxis bedeutet das auch, dass die Eurofighter mehr Stunden werden fliegen müssen.
https://www.diepresse.com/5835944/saab- ... uer-werdenIn weiterer Folge ergeben sich durch den verstärkten Einsatz der Eurofighter höhere Kosten,
die Entscheidung stellt zudem den Standort Linz Hörsching, wo die Saab stationiert sind, infrage.
Derzeit können laut Ministerium rund zehn Stunden Einsatzbereitschaft pro Tag für die Luftraumüberwachung sichergestellt werden,
wobei 94 Prozent durch die Eurofighter abgedeckt werden und sechs Prozent durch die Saab 105.
Gut 30.000 Euro kostet eine Flugstunde der Eurofighter, rund 3.000 Euro eine Saab-Flugstunde.
https://volksblatt.at/nach-saab-aus-kom ... r-zurueck/
Wie sieht die Zukunft des Militärflughafens Hörsching ohne die Saab 105 aus?
Hörsching soll ein Stützpunkt für die Eurofighter werden, auf dem die Maschinen nicht durchgehend stationiert sind.
International wird das Forward Operating Site, kurz FOS, genannt.
Es laufen bereits Vorbereitungen, wie und wann das erfolgen wird.
Da geht es vor allem um das Personal, das für die Einsätze der Eurofighter am Standort gebraucht wird.
Aber auch um technische Fragen, welche die Infrastruktur des Flugplatzes betreffen.
Dazu wird in Hörsching auch noch investiert werden.
Ich gehe davon aus, dass die Umsetzung bald beginnen wird.
