[Sussex] [OT] Warships of the future...

[Geoffrey Teale]

It's good to see us veering way of topic as ever ;)

I think the answer to why Sewden anounced this is simple. Sweden is very 
proud of it's military hardware. Because of their close proximity to the 
former USSR (and what said country did in Finland) Sweden has always had 
a strict policy of self sufficiency in military hardware. Swedish 
military airdcraft, for example have been better thn many of their 
massively expensive US counterparts, principly becuase the operational 
criterea for such aircraft as so outlandish.

Swedish fighters, fighter bomber and interceptors for example have to be 
able to take of and land in blizzards, on the country roads in the north 
of Sweden. These design parameters led to ground breaking aircraft: in 
the 50's the SAAB Lassen (???) and Drakken (Dragon), in the 60's the 
SAAB Viggen (Devil) and in the 80's the SAAB JAS-39 Grippen (Griffen) 
which outperforms it's US counterparts and still costs Sweden less than 
the Danish fleet of F-16's.

An interesting side effect of this self suffuciency is that SAAB also 
knock out the odd car or two (as well as being one of the worlds leading 
engineering consultancy). Their exposure to high performance jet 
aircraft design has led them to lead automative innovation in such areas 
as the compression of air entering an engine (Turbo is synonymous with 
SAAB); passenger safety in high G impacts and the like. Believe it or 
not current 2004 SAAB 93ss have a list of optional extras that include a 
head-up-display and radar tracking of large objects around the car (used 
to cause the car to break when some large object, say a Moose, steps out 
in front of you) . If that's not enough they've also been experimenting 
with joystick control of cars and ejecter seats.

All that and it's still the cup holder that unfurls itslef from the 
dashboard that impresses me most. :)

-- 
Geoff (who wishes he had a SAAB 93ss Aero instead of a Renault Clio)