Both companies have refused to provide the Dutch updated technical information because they believe that the game is fixed, and the JSF will be selected.

Let’s look at the rundown:

• The Dutch have been full partners in JSF development since the late 1990s.
• They have already dumped something in excess of €500 into the JSF.
• The “independent” evaluation will be conducted by, from Dutch defense research institute TNO Defense, Security and Safety; the country’s National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR); and RAND Europe,” but both TNO and NLR are already hip deep in JSF development work.

The only reason that SAAB is taking the competition seriously is because their numbers are so much better than those of the JSF (or the Typhoon or Rafale) that they have a chance of winning, or getting some orders in a high-low procurement.