--- title: "Saab JAS 39 Gripen — OnlyPlanes" description: "Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter for interception, strike, and reconnaissance." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter for interception, strike, and reconnaissance." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/saab-jas-39-gripen.webp" "og:title": "Saab JAS 39 Gripen — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Fighter aircraft / JAS 39 # Saab JAS 39 Gripen Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter for interception, strike, and reconnaissance. ![Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/saab-jas-39-gripen.webp) Development ## History Saab developed the JAS 39 Gripen for Sweden as one aircraft able to perform interception, attack, and reconnaissance missions. The letters JAS refer to those three roles, although the actual equipment changed between production series. Sweden decided to pursue the programme in the early 1980s, and the first prototype flew in 1988. The new fighter was intended to replace several older types while retaining the ability to operate from dispersed sites under Swedish defence plans. The single-engine aircraft combines a delta wing, forward canards, and digital flight controls. This arrangement offers manoeuvrability in a compact airframe, but it also depends on reliable computers and carefully tested control software. Swedish operating concepts placed considerable weight on rapid ground servicing and the use of short stretches of road. Dispersal does not make the aircraft independent of trained maintainers, fuel, weapons, communications, or the wider command system. Early single-seat Gripen A aircraft and two-seat Gripen B trainers were followed by the C and D versions. These later models gained updated equipment and broader compatibility with systems used by other countries. Radars, software, data links, and available weapons continued to change during service. A capability attributed to one upgraded airframe should therefore not automatically be assigned to the entire family. Gripen C/D was adopted beyond Sweden by the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, and Thailand, each with its own operational arrangements. Saab later developed Gripen E as a substantially revised branch of the programme. Its familiar appearance conceals a more powerful engine, greater fuel capacity, and a new avionics architecture. It is better understood as a new version than as a simple equipment package for Gripen C. The first Gripen E flight took place in 2017. The programme also involves industrial cooperation between Sweden and Brazil. A two-seat Gripen F has its own development path, so details of that version must be checked separately. Gripen illustrates how the needs of a comparatively small air force can shape both an aircraft and its support system. Evaluating its combat value requires attention to the exact variant, weapons, crew training, and links to ground-based information. The family has developed over decades from a national multirole fighter into several export and new-generation versions. Its continuing story concerns changing sensors and software as much as the airframe visible from outside. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"News, stories and rare images from the world of aviation","inLanguage":"en-GB","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter for interception, strike, and reconnaissance.","name":"Saab JAS 39 Gripen | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","logo":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"},"sameAs":["https://t.me/legkoenebo"]},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen#article","@type":"Article","description":"Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter for interception, strike, and reconnaissance.","headline":"Saab JAS 39 Gripen","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/saab-jas-39-gripen.webp","author":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/fighter-aircraft/saab-jas-39-gripen#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"OnlyPlanes","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png"},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/saab-jas-39-gripen.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/saab-jas-39-gripen.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.