Saab JAS 39 Gripen – Photos & Video

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (English: “griffin”) is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet). The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. It is powered by the Volvo RM12, and has a top speed of Mach 2. Later aircraft are modified for NATO interoperability standards and to undertake in-flight refuelling.

Source: Saab JAS 39 Gripen on Wikipedia

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. The Gripen is designed to perform various air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, such as interception, strike, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. The Gripen is also known for its high maneuverability, low operational costs, and compatibility with different types of weapons and sensors.
The Gripen was first flown in 1988 and entered service with the Swedish Air Force in 1996. Since then, it has been exported to several countries, including Brazil, Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, and Thailand. The Gripen is also a candidate for future fighter programs in Canada, Finland, India, and Switzerland. The Gripen has participated in several international operations and exercises, such as NATO’s Baltic Air Policing, Operation Unified Protector in Libya, and Red Flag in the United States.
The Gripen is powered by a single Volvo Aero RM12 turbofan engine, which is a derivative of the General Electric F404 engine. The engine provides a maximum thrust of 80 kN (18,000 lbf) with afterburner and enables the Gripen to reach a top speed of Mach 2 (2,120 km/h or 1,320 mph) at high altitude. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration, which gives it excellent aerodynamic performance and stability. The Gripen also features a digital fly-by-wire system, a glass cockpit with three multifunction displays, and a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) control system.
The Gripen can carry up to 5.3 tonnes (11,700 lb) of weapons and external fuel tanks on eight hardpoints under the wings and fuselage. The Gripen can employ a variety of weapons, such as air-to-air missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, IRIS-T, Meteor), air-to-ground missiles (AGM-65 Maverick, Brimstone, KEPD 350 Taurus), anti-ship missiles (RBS-15), bombs (GBU-10/12/16 Paveway II/III/IV laser-guided bombs, GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb), rockets (CRV7), and a 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon. The Gripen can also carry different types of sensors and pods, such as radar warning receiver (RWR), electronic countermeasures (ECM), infrared search and track (IRST), laser designator pod (LDP), reconnaissance pod (RecceLite), and jamming pod (BriteCloud).