In article ,
Kevin Brooks wrote:

No argument there. But were the *Rb-27's* still in service after the
eighties?

Sure. The J 35J rebuild programme ran from 1987-91 and
it's not logical to upgrade them to better use(*) a certain
missile if it's going out of service. Also, it's not hard to
find photos of Finnish Drakens from the 90's with RB 27s
(so I think the real RB 27 retirement date is 2000).

*The armament upgrades we Improved gun installtion
(which could be noted in a certain other thread here), air
to air rocket capability (again, after being deleted on
the J 35F), two more wet pylons and two more Sidewinder
only pylons and ability to employ _all missile types_ head up
or head down.
To me, it's obvious Draken needed a radar guided
missile, otherwise it couldn't be a full capability stand
in for Viggen. Why the IR RB 28 was retained I've never
gotten a very clear answer to, only a slightly evasive
"it's better for some situation".
--
Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.