Saab disclosed in its official Youtube channel a video showing the preparation and flight of the Gripen fighters, registrations FAB 4105 and FAB 4106. The aircraft arrived in Brazil via the Port of Navegantes, in Santa Catarina, on May 05th and took off from the city's airport to Anápolis Air Force Base (BAAN), in Goiás, on the 09th.
The aircraft were driven by FAB pilots Lieutenant Colonel Cristiano de Oliveira Perez and Major Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos. This was the first time that the newly arrived fighters in the country flew directly to BAAN and not to Gavião Peixoto, in São Paulo, where the Gripen Flight Test Center (GFTC) is located.
This happened because the Anápolis Air Base is already in operation with fighters, now totaling 6 aircraft under the command of the 1st Air Defense Group. The flight took approximately 1h30min.
Check out the video:
GET TO KNOW THE FAB F-39E GRIPEN
In December 2013, the Air Force Command announced the then Saab Gripen NG (currently Gripen E) as the winner of Project FX-2. The Swedish model, still under development, sured the North American Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the French Dassault Rafale, both already in operation.
On October 24, 2014, the FAB signed a contract for the purchase of 36 Gripen NGs, 28 of which were the one-seat version (F-39E) and eight were the two-seat version (F-39F), the latter acquired exclusively by Brazil.
The Gripen fighter represents a true operational and technological leap for Brazilian air defense. The development of the aircraft, carried out tly by Brazilians and Swedes, incorporates technologies found in the most advanced fighters in the world, such as AESA radar, touch-sensitive panoramic display (WAD) and the IRST (infrared search and tracking sensor).
The aircraft has 10 hard points for the use of a range of weapons, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, anti-ship missiles, conventional and smart bombs, electronic warfare equipment and sensors for target reconnaissance, identification and attack.
The Gripen E, as it is called commercially, also has an open architecture. This concept, also found in other more modern fighters, allows for faster updates to the plane's various systems, without the need for extensive modernization by blocks, as in older models. like the F-16.
With information: SAAB
