It was assumed that the Swedish Air Force would ultimately have only sixty Gripen E/F fighter aircraft [ou NG], whose development was launched by Saab in the late 2000s… And that it would retire its Gripen C/D. Despite sharing the same name, these two devices are different, with the first having more powerful engines up front and uniquely higher capacities compared to the second.
However, the developing international context caused Stockholm to change its plans. For example, in December 2020, then Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist announced that part of the JAS-39 C/D Gripen would be serviced to allow Flygvapnet to service at least six fighter squadrons.
And on the edge of the Royal International Air Tattoo [RIAT] In 2022, in the United Kingdom, the Swedish Air Force Chief of Staff, General Carl-Johan Edström, stated that the aim was to have a “balanced” mix of 120 Gripen E/F and Gripen C/D fighter aircraft by 2030 .
Hence the announcement recently made by Saab. The industrialist is said to have received an order worth 3.5 billion Swedish crowns [320 millions d’euros] to upgrade part of the Gripen C/D from Flygvapnet. So it’s about making improvements in terms of her engine and modernizing her PS-05 Mk4 radar [à antenne mécanique] and the integration of a new electronic warfare suite into it.
This “contract represents a major advance in radar performance and functionality, both in hardware and software, and will future-proof the Gripen C/D’s operational capability,” commented Jonas Hjelm, Saab’s Aeronautics Division Manager.
No further details were given, except that the device will have the ability to carry new ammunition… And that this upgrade will strengthen interoperability with the Gripen E/F, especially at the data link level.
However, for General Edstrom it is the Gripen E/F that “will change the game” because “although it looks like the C/D, it has a new airframe, a new engine, an increased capacity payload, a new radar [à antenne active, ndlr] and a new electronic warfare system. So it is indeed a new aircraft,” he stressed during RIAT 22.
The Flygvapnet does not rely on stealth… preferring to rely on a “very advanced” electronic warfare system that can be regularly upgraded to operate in competitive environments. In addition, the Gripen has been designed to be as easy to service as possible, requiring only six technicians to perform basic refueling and maintenance at small air bases or on the highway.
It should also be noted that the Brazilian Air Force, during a ceremony organized on December 19 at Anápolis Air Force Base [FAB] officially admitted to active service his first Gripen E/F, 40 of which had been ordered by Brasilia.