with the aim of deterring russia in space the jaws 39 gripen griffon made its first flight
in december 1988 and entered operational service with the swedish air force in 1997.
a total of 204 aircraft and three forces have
been ordered by the swedish air force which to date has taken delivery of 74
aircraft jaws 39 became the first swedish multi-role fighter aircraft capable of truly
interception ground attack and reconnaissance it is currently offered in two modern variants
the c and e series but even they need some updating and last month it was announced
that the gripen c series would be entering an upgrade process that could see those models
remain operational until at least 2035
the swedish defence material administration fmv awarded a swedish krone of 500 million 52 million
contract with saab to provide maintenance services for fighter aircraft saab will provide
capability upgrades to the jaws 39 to maintain its operational relevance for the next decade as well
as cost-effective solutions to help maintain the aircraft for a longer period the aim of the order
is to support a comprehensive study carried out by the swedish armed forces and the fmv in 2021
we are placing this order to begin work on securing the swedish armed forces needs for
continued high capability and availability for the jaws 39 cd through the mid-2030s
explains fmv head of aviation equipment angela mathiason new contracts for initial
work which will be followed by additional orders on an ongoing basis this year
gripen cd is the backbone of the swedish armed forces today and will continue to
be for many years to come so this is an important border in which we will ensure
the continued operation and operational relevance of gripen cd added jonas jone
head of saab's aeronautics business area in december 2021 fmv awarded
saba contract to deliver the new gripen e an advanced variant of the gripen cd aircraft
as part of the upgrade the aircraft will also receive a new launch system for air-to-air
missiles and counter-measures pods the work will be completed from a swedish krone of 400 million
40.6 million dollars contract previously awarded from the swedish government the new launchers
will reportedly be equipped on the gripen c and e series and are compatible with all types of
missiles used by the aircraft today including the aim-9 sidewinder and the aim-120 amram
the gripen was originally designed to replace variants of the cold war
saab 35 and saab 37 fighter aircraft which were built at the time when concerns about
soviet military might were high on sweden's minds development of the aircraft began in
the late 1970s as part of a joint effort by an industry consortium consisting of saab
saab microwave systems formerly ericsson volvo arrow corporation saab avatronix and ffb aerotech
the government in stockholm is looking for aircraft capable of carrying out combat attack
and reconnaissance missions after evaluating a number of existing foreign aircraft including
the american f-16 and f-18 fighters the swedish parliament decided in june 1982 to continue the
swedish project the resulting jaws 39 gripen is a mach 2 delta wing in canard fighter jet
powered by a volvo turbofan engine with afterburners it has a range of
up to 200 kilometers 2000 miles and can fly at an altitude of 15 240 meters 50 000 feet