Farnborough: Year of the Gripen?

Saab has revealed plans to inaugurate an avionics systems test rig for further development of the Gripen E fighter.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, Lennart Sindhal, deputy CEO of Saab said that the systems test rig would mean that all the sensor suites for the aircraft could be tested on the ground, while data was transmitted and received from an airborne aircraft.

He added that this development will be followed by the production of three more tactical rig test aircraft over the next three years to prove the Gripen E fighter.

The aircraft will be built at a rate of one per year in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and named 39-8, 39-9 and 39-10. The 39-8 aircraft will be used to test vehicle systems and fire control systems verification. Assembly has already started.

The next aircraft-39-9 will be used for tactical systems development and verification and the 39-10 aircraft will be used for final verification of the 39E airframe before deliveries begin in 2018.

The 39-7 was the first test demonstrator aircraft built in 2008, which has been used much more than originally anticipated. Sindhal said that it one of the strongest pieces of test equipment on the Gripen E programme with 274 hours flown with further trials ongoing with the IRST and AESA radar.

In the 39-7 platform, the company tested the engines, avionics and radar but when the total avionics systems rig was produced in October 2013, the complete system could be tested with hardware-in-the-loop together.

Saab has accumulated orders for 106 Gripen E fighter aircraft even without the 22 that had been planned for Switzerland.

This year, orders for the Gripen were boosted by Brazil, which is in negotiation for 36 aircraft as part of its FX-2 programme and an additional ten requested by Sweden that have been added to the original 60 that were ordered by the FMV in December 2013.

Speaking at Farnborough, Hakan Busche, CEO of Saab said that the company aims to sell 400 Gripen E and F (two-seater variant) aircraft over the next ten years. ‘I think that is do-able’, he added.

‘Saab is too big for the domestic market, our products need an international footprint,’ he said.

The Swedish FMV order is worth SEK16.4 billion and will see the modification of 60 Gripen C aircraft to the E model from 2013-2026. Initial deliveries will begin in 2018.

The Gripen E/F is slightly larger than the C/D as it has more sensors and electronics, a more powerful engine, a larger power supply, fuel tanks and cooling system. Busche said that the company is pursuing more upgrade programmes for the Gripen C/D, which is expected to fly for another 30 years.

The MS20 is the latest upgrade package on offer that includes integration of the Meteor missile, an improved AESA radar, enhanced electronic warfare suite and the addition of the Small Diameter Bomb munition.

Saab has a technology transfer agreement with Brazil for the production of both single seat and twin seat Gripen in South America under FX-2 in cooperation with Embraer. Busche said that a contract for the aircraft is expected by the end of the year and that 80% of the ‘surface area’of the aircraft would be built locally in Brazil, although he could not disclose the total workshare arrangement.

The intention is to build up an aircraft manufacturing capability in Brazil that can undertake design, assembly and integration. Busche said that work will also increase in Sweden and that there has been an exchange of personnel between the two countries.

‘Embraer will do most of the design on the two seat variant of the aircraft and are involved in the Gripen E programme,’ Busche said. It is unclear how many two-seat aircraft the Brazilian Air Force require.

Gotta give the Swedes credit , they have really created a lot of potential with the Grippen.

It’s a very effective little aircraft and by far the best bang for the buck of any modern fighter design.

In short, Northrup's F-20 Tigershark program was the right idea, but being designed around an old airframe design, nobody wanted to buy the plane. The Saab JAS 39 Grippen uses the same GE F404 engine as the F-20, but designed around a very modern airframe.

One of the cost drivers for many military systems is they are built in such small quantities that each is hand assembled. If somebody invested in a higher volume more automated line for the frame and its subassemblies the price would drop considerably. This isn’t done here because you may have a five year 60 aircraft order but Congress authorizes the funds one year at a time. Nobody will invest in automated lines or expensive time saving equipment if they can’t amortize the cost. So, hand assembly.

If the price dropped to say, half what a comparable, even a more sophisticated fighter cost, then they’d probably sell all they could make.

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