Saab held a high-level meeting with authorities from Brazil and Sweden to present the first six serial production Gripen E aircraft, which have left the factory and entered the delivery phase. The delegations from both The meeting was attended by: General Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, Commander of the Brazilian Air Force; Major General Carl-Johan Edström, Commander of the Swedish Air Force; Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab; and Jonas Hjelm, Senior Vice President and head of Saab business area Aeronautics. During the visit to Saab, several serial production and test aircraft were presented to the authorities, who also had the opportunity to test the new Gripen mission trainer simulator and to view an air display with both Swedish and Brazilian Gripen aircraft.
“The start of the serial delivery phase with these four aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force and two for the Swedish Air Force is an extremely important achievement for the Gripen programme. It shows that we have a mature product and that we fulfill our contractual obligations,” said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab. “This all has been possible thanks to our smart ways of working, innovative production technologies and close cooperation with the customers,” he added.
“It is a pleasure to follow the fulfilment of yet another step in the delivery process of the F-39 Gripen aircraft, which will lead the evolution of the Brazilian Air Force’s combat capability. This project represents a new technological level for Brazil and it is of fundamental importance in the development of our Industrial Defence Base,” said General Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, Commander of the Brazilian Air Force.
“These deliveries form an important part of strengthening our capabilities and defending Sweden. JAS 39 E Gripen will increase Sweden’s defence capability, allowing us to build a stronger and tactically superior Air Force for every situation,” said Major General Carl-Johan Edström, Commander of the Swedish Air Force.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. An updated and redeveloped version, designated Gripen JAS 39E/F but previously referred to as Gripen NG or Super JAS, began deliveries to the Swedish and Brazilian Air Forces. The changes from the C-series to E-series include the adoption of a new powerplant, the General Electric F414G, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and significantly increased internal fuel capacity. As of 2020, more than 271 Gripens of all models, A–F, have been built. In 2021, Brazil started supersonic flight tests of F-39E aircraft at high altitude above 16,000 feet. Brazil will start to receive the first production aircraft with IRST from November 2021.
