The first FAB fighters, the Saab Gripen NG, should arrive in the country in 2021, the last being
expected to be delivered in 2024, the announcement was made by the Air Force itself in the “Dimensão 22” project, the FAB website dedicated to curiosities and new projects of the force.
In all, Brazil will have 36 units of the Swedish fighter, but some of these 36 will be built in Brazil, with the participation of Embraer and other Brazilian companies, such measure does justice to the main factor of choice of the fighter that is the Transfer of Technology, with Brazil will take a big step forward in learning how to manufacture advanced fighters and who knows, in the future Brazil may have a fully nationally manufactured fighter, designed and manufactured by Brazilians.
The advantages of the Gripen NG, even though it is an aircraft that is coming out of the drawing board, are
numerous close to the current FAB air defense vector, the F-5EM/FM, starting with the Gripen NG generation that belongs to generation 4+, this is the generation of the main fighters in the world today, except for the 5th generation that are the American Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 and the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 (until then with the test designation T-50).
The total value of the fighter jets will cost around US$5,4 billion. Initially in August 2021, 8 Gripens should arrive for the FAB in the single-seat version (for one pilot) and three more will arrive in November, by 2024 the FAB together with Embraer and Saab expect that the 36 fighters will be effectively delivered.
However, the activities have already started, one of them was sending two FAB pilots to fly the Gripen NG, a course that has already been completed and the military are now back in Brazil in order to on the learning to the other FAB pilots. In 2017, the Swedish version of the Gripen NG made its first flight, and in 2020 it is planned to start manufacturing the first Brazilian Gripen, through Embraer.
As can be seen above and on the website below with more information about the Gripen, the activities in favor of the new Brazilian fighter will not be small, much less the work involved, both in Sweden and in Brazil. Since the first base to receive the Gripen NG will be ALA 2 (former Anápolis Air Force Base-GO), which since 2013 has been operating F-5EM fighters due to the retirement of the Mirages 2000C/B that were acquired from in 2005, while the FX-2 program was not completed.
For more information about the Gripen and more fun facts about the FAB, visit the website below:
http://www.fab.mil.br/dimensao22/
