Brazilian-Built Gripen E Makes First Flight
Brazil has reached a new stage in its Gripen fighter program after the first Gripen E produced in the country completed its maiden flight at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto facility in São Paulo State on October 6.
The aircraft took off at 10:21 local time and was flown by Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg. Saab said the flight was conducted to verify basic aircraft systems and assess initial performance. It also served as the aircraft’s first production acceptance test, beginning the final phase of the manufacturing process before delivery to the Brazilian Air Force.
The significance of the flight extends beyond the aircraft itself. It is the first Gripen fighter produced outside Sweden and provides a practical test of whether Brazil’s industrial infrastructure can manufacture, integrate and flight-test a modern supersonic fighter as part of Saab’s wider production network.
From technology transfer to local fighter production
Brazil’s ability to reach this point was built into the original Gripen acquisition rather than added later to the program.
In October 2014, Saab and the Brazilian government signed a contract covering 36 Gripen fighters, comprising 28 single-seat Gripen E aircraft and eight two-seat Gripen F aircraft. The agreement also included an industrial cooperation program designed to transfer technology and expertise to Brazilian industry. The contract was valued at approximately SEK 39.3 billion when announced.
The technology-transfer effort involved Brazilian engineers and technicians working with Saab in Sweden and participating in development, production and maintenance activities. Saab says more than 350 Brazilian specialists were involved in training under the program. Brazilian companies, including Embraer and other defense and aerospace firms, also became part of the industrial structure supporting the aircraft.
That arrangement was intended to create more than an assembly capability. The Brazilian Air Force describes local participation as extending across development, structures, systems, avionics, production and flight testing.
The local Gripen production line at Gavião Peixoto was inaugurated in May 2023. Saab said at the time that 15 of the 36 aircraft ordered under the Brazilian program would be produced there.
The October 6 flight therefore represents the first operational test of that manufacturing arrangement at the fighter level.
What the maiden flight actually demonstrates
The flight should not be confused with the aircraft entering operational service.
Saab classified the sortie as a production acceptance flight. The aircraft now has to complete its production flight-test campaign and certification process before it can be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force. Once accepted, it is scheduled to move to Anápolis Air Force Base in Goiás, where it will join the 1st Air Defence Group.
That distinction matters because a maiden flight primarily establishes that the newly produced aircraft can safely begin its test program. It does not, by itself, demonstrate operational readiness, weapons certification or full mission capability.
The aircraft was formally presented in March 2026, when Saab, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force unveiled the first Gripen E produced in Brazil. At that stage, the companies said the aircraft would undergo functional and production flight testing before delivery.
The latest flight confirms that this process has now moved from ground-based production activities into flight acceptance.
A fighter program becoming an industrial capability
The broader value for Brazil is the creation of a domestic industrial base capable of supporting a sophisticated fighter program.
The Gripen program has progressively moved Brazilian personnel and companies into activities that previously depended heavily on foreign expertise. Saab’s technology-transfer program includes engineering, production, maintenance and other technical disciplines, while Embraer has become responsible for the Brazilian final assembly operation.
This gives Brazil a different position from a customer that simply imports completed aircraft.
It does not mean that every component or every stage of Gripen development has moved to Brazil. Saab remains responsible for major elements of the global program, and the Gripen production system continues to connect Swedish and Brazilian industrial facilities. The significance is that Brazil now has a domestic site capable of assembling, integrating and testing the fighter within that international production network.
That capability could become increasingly important as Saab and Embraer expand their industrial relationship.
In July 2026, the two companies announced a Heads of Agreement covering the potential production of 20 additional Gripen aircraft at Gavião Peixoto. The arrangement had not yet become a final production contract at the time of the announcement, so those aircraft should not be counted as confirmed Brazilian Air Force purchases. The proposed expansion nevertheless indicates that the Brazilian facility is being considered as more than a one-off production site for the existing national order.
Where the aircraft fits in Brazil’s fighter fleet
The Brazilian Air Force operates the Gripen under the F-X2 program, which was selected in 2013 and formalized through the 2014 contract.
The first Gripen aircraft reached Brazil in 2020, while the first operational aircraft arrived later. The F-39 Gripen became operational with the 1st Air Defence Group at Anápolis in 2022. Saab reported in March that 11 aircraft had been handed over to Brazil, while the Brazilian Air Force has separately reported 10 aircraft in operation.
The distinction reflects the difference between aircraft delivered to the customer and aircraft currently available for operational employment.
The fleet has also moved beyond initial introduction. In February 2026, the Brazilian Air Force said its Gripen force had begun conducting Quick Reaction Alert missions for the defense of the BrasÃlia area. The service has also reported flight testing and operational development involving aerial refueling with the KC-390 Millennium and other weapons and mission activities.
The Brazilian-built aircraft will therefore enter a fleet that is already developing an operational role rather than starting the process from scratch.
The next test is delivery
The immediate priority is now the completion of the production acceptance campaign.
If the aircraft completes certification and acceptance as planned, it will become the first Gripen produced in Brazil to enter the Brazilian Air Force inventory. More importantly for the country’s aerospace sector, its flight-test campaign will provide a practical demonstration that the Gavião Peixoto facility can take a locally produced fighter through final assembly, integration and acceptance.
That is the measurable outcome of more than a decade of industrial cooperation between Brazil and Sweden.
The maiden flight does not by itself establish that Brazil can independently design and manufacture every element of a modern combat aircraft. It does demonstrate something narrower and more concrete: Brazilian industry has reached the point where a Gripen E can emerge from a domestic production line and enter formal flight acceptance testing.
For the Gripen program, that gives Saab an additional production location. For Brazil, it provides a domestic fighter manufacturing capability tied to a continuing technology-transfer program and a wider aerospace industrial base.
