Summary European fighter jets like Dassault Rafale are seeing increased demand due to geopolitical factors affecting other major players. Eurofighter Typhoon will see potential for up to 200 sales over two years, ramping up production to meet demands. Saab Gripen's rugged design makes it unique; and more orders are expected.
While the United States and China are now the world's top producers of fighter jets , the Europeans maintain a large fighter jet industry. Currently, the Europeans are producing three multirole fighter jets - the Eurofighter Typhoon , the Dassault Rafale , and the Saab Gripen. The Europeans produce a number of other military aircraft, such as the Airbus A400M Atlas strategic transport aircraft / refueling aircraft and the Aermacchi M-345 advanced trainer / light attack aircraft.
However, this article will only consider multirole fighter jets. Dassault Rafale Dassault has seen demand for its Rafale jets spike in recent years. This is partly due to the collapse of Russian fighter jets.
This is partly because of the US CAATSA act sanctioning countries purchasing Russian jets and partly due to other factors (e.g., the Germans banning the sale of Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia could result in another large Rafale order ).
The French Rafale started out as a joint European project, but disagreements saw the French go their own way and produce the Rafale by themselves (the other Europeans built the Eurofighter). The Rafale entered service in the French Navy in 2004 and the French Air Force in 2006. To date, the French military has ordered 234 Rafales, while export orders currently stand at 261 new-build Rafales.
European fighter jet: Expected production 2024: Note: Dassault Rafale: 20 (approx). Increasing from 2 to 3 per month Eurofighter Typhoon: 20 (approx). Plans to keep production running at least a minimum levels to around 2040 Saab Gripen: likely single digits Capacity to produce up to 24 jets per year, production likely to rise with more Swedish and Thai orders In 2023, Dassault had planned to produce 15 Rafales, but it only delivered 13.
However, Dassault is now ramping up production and is building around 2 Rafales per month, and it plans to increase production to 3 per month by the end of 2024 . However, supply chain issues are making production difficult. Around half a dozen Western fighter jets are in production today, with rates ranging from around 10 per year to over 150 annually.
Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon looks similar to the Rafale shares an early development history. It is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, with the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain as the primary customers (the procurements for the three countries are the UK 232, Germany 180, Italy 121, and Spain 87). Of the 680 Eurofighters ordered by 9 countries, 603 have been delivered (they have been built at a historic rate of around 20 per year).
The consortium stated in mid-2023 that it sees the potential for up to 200 Eurofighter Typhoon sales over the next two years. In April 2024, the Aviationist reported that the consortium envisions up to 74 aircraft from domestic orders and 130 aircraft from export customers in addition to the currently disclosed orders. If these jets were to all be delivered by 2035, then they would be produced at an average rate of around 20 per year.
Aviation Week states there are currently 187 planned deliveries between 2023 and 2033 (with a few to extend past 2033). This implies a production rate of around 18 per year. Fighter jet production by country: United States: approx: 246 F-16, F-15, F-35, F/A-18 China: 240+ J-10, J-16, J-20 (plus J-11s and J-15s) Russia: 28-49 Su-30, Su-35, Su-34, Su-57 (estimated for 2023) Japan: 5-6 (approx.
) F-35As assembled under license India: 16 Tejas all variants planned for 2024 It is also important for the countries involved to keep the production running until they start to switch over to producing next-generation aircraft. The exact production numbers for the Eurofighter are hard to come by, but historic production rates and existing orders suggest something in the range of 20 per year. Building fighter jets is very complicated.
While the British may not be producing any fighter jets by themselves anymore, British parts are found in most Western fighter jets. British companies supply many of the components to the Saab Gripen, the Turkish Kaan under development, and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (especially the F-35B). The fighter is expected to remain in service until the 2050s.
Saab Gripen The Saab Gripen is Europe's third multirole fighter jet in production . Saab produces the Gripen in Sweden as a rugged jet built to operate in comparatively austere conditions (like on highways). Until this year, Sweden was not part of NATO and had to plan to fight a large war with Russia by itself.
It ran on the assumption that its airbases would come under attack in the event of war, so it would need to disperse its aircraft. The Gripen was designed for the sort of war where Sweden would struggle to protect its air bases and defend its skies. The Gripen has found some success in the international market and has been exported to Hungary, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil, and Thailand.
Hungary recently placed an order for the Gripen, while Thailand is expected to place another soon. Brazil had been expected to place another large order, but it seems they will purchase second-hand F-16s instead. "Saab's Linköping assembly line can produce up to 24 aircraft per year, but it holds the capacity to meet additional demand.
" - AIN According to one source , Saab claims it has the capacity to produce 24 Gripens at its facilities in Linköping, Gothenburg, Järfälla, and Arboga. That said, Saab has set up a final assembly line in Brazil in cooperation with Embraer, where some 15 Gripens will be assembled, with the first being delivered in 2025. Sweden plans to procure at least another 60 Saab Gripen-E jets; however, it is unclear what the production number will be for 2024.
All told, it seems that European multirole fighter jet production for 2024 will be between 40 and 60 jets..
