JAS 39 Gripen

JAS 39 Gripen
Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen
Role	Fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraft
National origin	Sweden
Manufacturer	Saab Group
Design group	Industrigruppen JAS, FMV
First flight	9 December 1988
Introduction	1 November 1997
Status	In service
Primary users	Swedish Air Force South African Air Force Czech Air Force Hungarian Air Force
Produced	1987–present
Number built	Approx. 247
Program cost	US$ 13.54 billion (2006)
Unit cost	US$ 30–60 million for JAS 39C

External video

Ground footage of the 1989 Gripen crash

External image

A detailed and labeled cutaway drawing of the Gripen from Saab

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (English: "griffin") 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; bribery has been suspected in some of these procurements, but authorities closed the investigation in 2009.