Saab's third Gripen E flew today from the Swedish company's factory in Linkoping. The flight lasted approximately 57 minutes and was flown by Saab experimental test pilot Jakob Hogberg.
This third Gripen fighter model shows that the Swedish fighter project has advanced. The first flight of a Gripen E was in June 2017, the second aircraft flew last November.The next model to fly should be the Gripen E destined for the FAB, the flight should take place next August.
Check! ✅ Another fantastic milestone for the Gripen E program has been achieved. Today our third Gripen E test aircraft made its maiden flight in Linköping, Sweden pic.twitter.com/mNjUkUT49s
— Saab (@Saab) June 10, 2019
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Speaking last month, Eddy de la Motte, head of Saab's Gripen E/F business unit, said the company aims to have eight new generation aircraft flying before the end of this year, including four production examples that are in the pipeline. final assembly in Linkoping.
The new fighter already has two locations defined for use, one of them is the Swedish Air Force itself, which will have 60 examples of the fighter and also the FAB, which will first have 36 units of the Gripen NG, as it is also known.
The aircraft that will come to the FAB will be built by the two nations, part of them in Sweden and another part in Brazil, by Embraer in Gavião Peixoto-SP. In addition, Brazil will have access to Technology Transfer, that is, it will be able to place national technology in the is the case of the WAD screen from the company AEL Sistemas, that will equip the new FAB fighters.
The first fighter will arrive at FAB in 2021 and the first made in Brazil will reach Brazilian hunters in 2024.It is expected that the first Gripen fighter of the FAB, which is in the final stages of construction in Sweden, will make its first test flight in the second half of this year. The FAB will operate 28 units of the single-seat E version and eight of the two-seat F version. At the FAB, the fighter will be named Gripen F-39.
source: Flight Global / Edition: Aeroflap
