SAAB VIGGEN
I had two trips in the back of a Viggen during 1984. We flew around Sweden at and sometimes below the tree line (10-30m) at M:0.9, accellerating to M:0.95 on IP to target runs. That is 650knots at 30 feet in real money. All under a 200ft overcast in not very good visibility. Rock-steady handling and all flown in Mil power with about 93 per-cent RPM set. Plenty in reserve, plus reheat. Everything about the aircraft and the way the Swedish Air Force operated it was very, very impressive.
It changed my life. Not really surprising after stepping out of a Jaguar.
During a presentation on the Gripen, one of the SAAB team told us that the benchmark requirements for the Gripen design were that it must outperform the Viggen in every category; performance, weapons, radar etc. The Viggen in its various guises outperformed as a weapons system anything the RAF had in 1984 or was ever likely to get, and the Swedes have now replaced it with something better. There is a message to the purcasing department in there somewhere.