Sweden's MOST FEARED fighter pilot flys the Saab Gripen aircraft
Another great idea for the
Swedish air force and
NATO the new
Saab gripen will serve the Swedish air force well. The
Saab JAS 39 Gripen (
English:
Griffin[Nb
4][3]) is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the
Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the
Saab 35 Draken and
37 Viggen in the
Swedish Air Force (
Flygvapnet). The
Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. It is powered by the
Volvo RM12, and has a top speed of
Mach 2.
Later aircraft are modified for NATO interoperability standards and to undertake in-flight refuelling.
In
1979, the
Swedish government began development studies for an aircraft capable of fighter, attack and reconnaissance missions to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen. A new design from Saab was selected and developed as the
JAS 39, first flying in
1988.
Following two crashes during flight development and subsequent alterations to the aircraft's flight control software, the Gripen entered service with the Swedish Air Force in
1997. Upgraded variants, featuring more advanced avionics and adaptations for longer mission times, began entering service in
2003.
In order to market the aircraft to export customers, Saab has formed several partnerships and collaborative efforts with multiple overseas aerospace companies. One example of such efforts was Gripen
International, a joint partnership between Saab and
BAE Systems formed in
2001. Gripen International was responsible for marketing the aircraft, and was heavily involved in the successful export of the type to
South Africa; the organization was later dissolved amidst allegations of bribery being employed to secure foreign interest and sales. On the export market, the Gripen has achieved moderate success in sales to nations in
Central Europe, South Africa and
Southeast Asia; bribes have been reportedly involved in some of these procurements.[4]
A further version, designated Gripen JAS 39
E/F, is under development as of 2014; it has been referred to as Gripen NG or Super-JAS.[5] The changes include the adoption of a new powerplant, the
General Electric F414G, an active electronically scanned array radar, and significantly increased internal fuel capacity. Saab has proposed other derivatives, including a navalised
Sea Gripen for carrier operations and an optionally-manned aircraft for unmanned operations.
Sweden has ordered the Gripen E/F and
Brazil and
Switzerland initially selected it for procurement.
As of 2013, more than 247 Gripens have been built.[Nb 1]
Design
Avionics and sensors[edit]
All of the Gripen's avionics are fully integrated using total of five
MIL-STD 1553B digital data buses, described as 'sensor fusion'.[80] The total integration of the avionics makes the Gripen a "programmable" aircraft, allowing software updates to be introduced over time to increase performance and allow for additional operational roles and equipment.[91] The
Ada programming language was adopted for the Gripen, and is used for the primary flight controls on the final prototypes from
1996 onwards and all subsequent production aircraft.[92] The Gripen's software is continuously being improved to add new capabilities, as compared to the preceding
Viggen which was updated only in an 18-month schedule.[83]
Much of the data generated from the onboard sensors and by cockpit activity is digitally recorded throughout the length of an entire mission. This information can be replayed in the cockpit or easily extracted for detailed post-mission analysis using a this data transfer unit that can also be used to insert mission data to the aircraft.[93][94] The Gripen, like the Viggen, was designed to operate as one component of a networked national defence system, which allows for automatic exchange of information in real-time between Gripen aircraft and ground facilities.[95] According to Saab, the Gripen features "the world's most highly developed data link".[80] The Gripen's Ternav tactical navigation system combines information from multiple onboard systems such as the air data computer, radar altimeter, and
GPS to continuously calculate the Gripen's location.[96]
The Gripen entered service using the PS-05/A pulse-doppler X-band multi-mode radar, developed by Ericsson and
GEC-Marconi, which is based on the latter's advanced
Blue Vixen radar for the
Sea Harrier that also served as the basis for the Eurofighter's
CAPTOR radar.[97][80] The all-weather radar is capable of locating and identifying targets
120 km (74 mi) away,[98] and automatically tracking multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air. It can guide several beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to multiple targets simultaneously.[99] Saab stated the PS-05/A is able to handle all types of air defense, air-to-surface, and reconnaissance missions.[80]