The Hungarian Defence Forces celebrated the reception of two new Gripen C fighters, to be operated by the 101 st Aviation Wing, based at Kecskemét Air Base, Hungary. This follows the contract signed between the Hungarian Ministry of Defence and FMV (the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration in February 2024. The delivery of two new aircraft, the first two out of four, confirms Saab’s commitment to timely delivery to its customers. Hungary has operated Gripen fighters since 2006. While the Hungarian Air Force operates a total of 14 Gripen aircraft under lease, in 2011, the country reportedly intended to purchase these aircraft outright.
However, in January 2012, the Hungarian and Swedish governments agreed to extend the lease period for a further 10 years; according to Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende, the agreement represented considerable cost savings. In August 2021, a contract was signed with Saab to modernise the Gripen fleet of the Hungarian Air Force. The radar will be upgraded to PS-05/Mk4 and the software will be upgraded to MS 20 Block 2 level. New weapons would be added to the arsenal of the Hungarian Gripens. The IRIS-T missiles were ordered in December 2021. With the contract signed in February 2024, Hungary will operate 18 Gripen C/D with the latest upgrades.
“With a committed, long-term modernisation programme, and thanks to Saab’s preparedness to invest in an Aviation Development Centre in the country, Hungary will, as a partner to Saab and Sweden, be able to influence, develop and benefit from the continuous development and operation of the Gripen system,” says Lars Tossman, head of Saab’s business area Aeronautics.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. Later aircraft are fully NATO interoperable. As of 2025, more than 280 Gripens of all models, A–F, have been delivered. A major redesign of the Gripen series, previously referred to as Gripen NG (Next Generation) or Super JAS, now designated JAS 39E/F Gripen began deliveries to the Swedish Air Force and Brazilian Air Force in 2019. Changes from the JAS C to JAS E include a larger fuselage, a more powerful engine, increased weapons payload capability, and new cockpit, avionics architecture, electronic warfare system and other improvements.
