One fleet or two?
The big question that needs to be answered is: how many aircraft should Austria operate at the same time? Is a supersonic, efficient fighter stationed at Zeltweg enough and is pilot training outsourced abroad? Or do you need a second type for training one or two pilots a year, a smaller, slower training jet, which – to a very limited extent – could also take on surveillance activities? Within the army, there is currently a trend towards a two-fleet solution, as General Robert Brieger recently confirmed in the “Krone” interview. However, Sweden’s new offer could shuffle the cards.