Gripen F

Gripen F Completes First Flight In Sweden

The Gripen F first flight has moved Saab and Brazil’s two-seat fighter program into its airborne test phase, with the aircraft completing a 40-minute inaugural sortie from Saab’s airfield in Linköping, Sweden, on August 28. Saab said the flight verified the functionality of the aircraft’s core systems and its initial flight performance.

The flight was conducted by Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg and Brazilian Air Force test pilot Lieutenant Colonel Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos. The participation of both Swedish and Brazilian pilots reflects the joint character of the aircraft’s development and its eventual operational role with the Brazilian Air Force.

From Ground Testing To The Flight Test Campaign

The first flight is an important transition in the Gripen F program because it allows Saab and Brazil to begin validating the aircraft under actual flight conditions.

Saab said the next stage will involve progressive expansion of the aircraft’s flight envelope. Testing will gradually address its limits in speed, altitude, G-load and angle of attack rather than attempting to clear the complete performance envelope at once.

The test campaign will also examine capabilities specific to the two-seat configuration. This includes tactical functions and systems associated with the rear cockpit, which is a key distinction between Gripen F and the single-seat Gripen E.

Once the planned flight activities and aircraft acceptance procedures are completed, Saab says the aircraft will be prepared for delivery to the Brazilian Air Force.

Gripen F Program At A Glance

The underlying Brazilian program was established through a 2014 agreement covering development and production of 36 Gripen E/F aircraft. Saab’s current program information identifies 28 Gripen E aircraft and eight Gripen F aircraft in the original Brazilian order.

Why The Two-Seat Configuration Matters

The Gripen F is not simply a trainer version of the Gripen E. Saab describes the aircraft as a combat-capable two-seat platform designed to combine operational missions with pilot conversion and training requirements.

The second cockpit provides another crew position with its own displays and controls. Saab previously stated that the aircraft can operate in a training configuration, where one crew member receives instruction, as well as an operational configuration in which the two crew members can divide workload using different display settings.

That distinction is important for modern fighter training. A two-seat aircraft allows an instructor to accompany a pilot during more representative mission profiles while retaining the basic characteristics and systems architecture of an operational fighter.

The arrangement can also support missions in which workload management is important. Saab says the Gripen F is intended to improve operational performance through the ability of two crew members to share tasks and use different display configurations.

Brazil’s Role Goes Beyond Aircraft Procurement

The Gripen F represents one of the more significant industrial aspects of the Brazilian Gripen program. Brazil was not simply an end user of a completed foreign aircraft. It became directly involved in the development of the two-seat variant through technology transfer and industrial cooperation.

Saab says more than 350 Brazilian engineers, technicians, operators and pilots have participated in training connected with the Gripen program. The training covered areas including development, flight testing, production and maintenance.

Brazilian participation was particularly relevant to Gripen F. Saab’s technology-transfer documentation says Brazilian engineers contributed to modifications required to add the second crew position, including work involving seats, displays, controls, electrical and environmental systems, oxygen and anti-G systems, and structural and fuselage engineering.

This makes the first flight significant beyond the aircraft itself. It demonstrates the transition of a jointly developed configuration from engineering and production work into formal flight testing.

A Long-Running Brazil-Sweden Fighter Partnership

The Gripen partnership dates back to Brazil’s selection of the fighter and the 2014 agreement for 36 aircraft. Saab and Brazilian companies subsequently established a broad industrial framework involving development, production, systems integration, flight testing and maintenance.

Brazilian companies including Embraer, AEL Sistemas, Akaer and Atech have participated in the wider Gripen program. Saab has also established the Gripen Design and Development Network in Brazil, connecting Brazilian engineering activity with Saab’s development organization in Sweden.

The partnership has therefore created a domestic Brazilian capability base around the fighter rather than limiting local participation to aircraft operation and maintenance.

For Brazil, that industrial dimension is strategically relevant because the value of a fighter program extends beyond the number of aircraft delivered. Engineering expertise, systems integration experience and maintenance knowledge can influence a country’s ability to sustain and modify a combat aircraft throughout its service life.

What Happens Next For Gripen F

The immediate priority is flight-test expansion. Saab will progressively evaluate the aircraft across its planned flight envelope while simultaneously testing functions associated with the second cockpit and the aircraft’s tactical employment.

The program must then complete the relevant acceptance procedures before the aircraft can be prepared for delivery to Brazil.

The first flight therefore marks the beginning of another phase rather than the completion of the Gripen F development effort. Flight testing will provide the data needed to validate the aircraft’s systems and performance under increasingly demanding conditions.

For the Brazilian Air Force, the eventual arrival of Gripen F will add a two-seat variant to a fighter fleet built around the Gripen E family. For Saab and its Brazilian partners, the aircraft also provides a tangible result of years of joint engineering, industrial participation and technology transfer.

The significance of the August 28 flight is consequently broader than a conventional first-flight milestone. It marks the point at which the jointly developed Gripen F moves from development and production into systematic airborne evaluation, bringing Brazil’s two-seat fighter closer to operational service.

See video from the first flight here: https://saab.screen9.tv/