| Austrian Air Force Saab 105 training and light combat jet. |
Starting next year, the nation will only have to rely on its 15 Eurofighters for air defense as Vienna has not yet made any decisions on replacing the Swedish-made light jet.
Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said last summer that they would not consider a replacement for the Saab before the end of the dispute with Airbus about the alleged fraud in the Eurofighter affair.
However, a few days ago the Austrian media reported that the OLG - Oberlandesgerichtes Wien (Vienna Higher Regional Court) took the decision to close the case as prosecutors did not submit enough evidence to support their thesis.
It is difficult now to predict the nation's next steps, but considering its difficulty in bearing the operational costs of the Typhoon, we expect Vienna to consider introducing a cheaper aircraft soon. The best choice is towards a ready-to-use jet and for this reason the M-345 and M-346 aircraft of the Italian company Leonardo could represent the best option.
Just a few weeks ago an industrial cooperation letter was signed between the ministers of Italy and Austria. On 12 November 2020, Italian Minister of Defense Lorenzo Guerini and Austrian Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner signed a letter of intent for the launch of a cooperation program in the helicopter procurement sector. Austria is planning to acquire LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) type helicopters from Italy. This cooperation agreement could in the future expand and include Italian jets.
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Written by Matteo Sanzani
