Replace "convince" with "legal bribery" and you're probably nearer the truth. Check the Indian Rafale selection and the long road to that deal if you want more on that story.

Much has happened with the Gripen project since this thread faded into obscurity. Armasuisse pilots have flown the new Gripen up in Sweden and the politicians here are still trying to discuss what is essentially a done deal. The fact is that no one in the military is really questioning the new fighter's rôle, rather the "Tiger replacement" aspect is being upheld, although I personally believe that all the leaks to the press which clearly showed that the Rafale was the best fighter in Armasuisse's evaluation originated from the Air Force, but I have no evidence of that.

Defense minister Maurer has tried to prolong the procurement process for a couple of years, delaying service entry to 2020, by which time, the evaluation process will not only be null and void, but new models will no doubt be available with whatever weapon systems and active scanning radars are then state-of-the-art. Anyone who knows their recent Swiss military airplane procurement history will recognize this protracted "will they" / "won't they" process. It's happened so often before and clearly this time is proving to be no different. It's kind of embarrassing if you're in this industry, because all the bidders, Dassault, EADS and Saab have held up their side of the evaluation and Switzerland is just farting around not clarifying clearly what is happening with the procurement.