NationMaster - Encyclopedia: JAS 39 Gripen

The Saab JAS 39 "Gripen" (Griffin or "Gryphon") is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. The aircraft is in service with the Swedish Air Force, the Czech Republic Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force, and has been ordered by the South African Air Force. In April 2007, Norway signed an agreement on a joint development programme of the aircraft. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3008x1960, 696 KB) Description See caption Date 1 Sep 2003 Source http://www. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... For the manufacturer of Saab cars, see Saab Automobile. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Coat of arms of the Swedish Air Force. ... The South African Air Force roundel The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ... The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army. ... The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Czech Republic Army. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 2006: // January 19 - Jet Airways announces its purchase of Air Sahara, creating the largest domestic airliner in India. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... For other uses, see Griffin (disambiguation). ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... Look up aerospace in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up company in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the manufacturer of Saab cars, see Saab Automobile. ... Coat of arms of the Swedish Air Force. ... The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Czech Republic Army. ... The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army. ... The South African Air Force roundel The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ...

Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world.

Development

The Gripen is designed for performance, flexibility, effectiveness and survivability in air combat. The designation JAS stands for Jakt (Air-to-Air), Attack (Air-to-Surface), and Spaning (Reconnaissance), indicating that the Gripen is a multirole aircraft that can fulfill each mission type. Gripen got its name in a public competition in 1982.^[1] The griffin is the heraldry on Saab's logo and suited the multi-role characteristics of the aircraft. Furthermore, the griffin is the symbolic animal on the coat of arms of Östergötland, the province in which Saab AB is headquartered (Linköping). Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift. ... A multirole aircraft is an aircraft that can both be used as fighter aircraft and ground attack aircraft This aircraft-related article is a stub. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... For the manufacturer of Saab cars, see Saab Automobile. ... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... (helpÂ· info) is a historical Province (landskap) in the south of Sweden. ... A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision. ... LinkÃ¶ping [ËˆlÉªnÉ•Ã¸ËpÉªÅ‹] is a city in southern Sweden, with a population of 97,428 (2005). ...

Sweden chose to develop the Gripen rather than purchase a variant of the F-16, F/A-18A/B, or the "F-5S" version of the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American multirole jet fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force. ... The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a modern all-weather carrier-capable strike fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. ... The Northrop F-20 Tigershark (initially F-5G) was a privately financed fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, starting in 1975 and offered for sale starting in the 1980s and formally ending in the early 1990s. ...

Design

In designing the aircraft, several layouts were studied. Saab ultimately selected an unstable canard design. The canard configuration gives a high onset of pitch rate and low drag, enabling the aircraft to be faster, have longer range and carry a larger payload. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x605, 81 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x605, 81 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Flight dynamics is the science of air and space vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. ... An object falling through a gas or liquid experiences a force in direction opposite to its motion. ... In cargo transport, the payload is the valuable contents of the vehicle. ...

The combination of delta wing and canards gives the Gripen significantly better take-off and landing performance and flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics make it a "programmable" aircraft. It also has a built-in electronic warfare unit, making it possible to load more ordnance onto the aircraft without losing self defence capabilities. The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Avionics is a portmanteau which literally means aviation electronics. ... // Electronic warfare (EW) is the use of the electromagnetic spectrum to effectively deny the use of this phenomena by an adversary, while optimizing its use by friendly forces. ... Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ...

The Gripen affords more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft used by Sweden, and its operating costs are about two thirds of those for JA 37 Viggen. The Saab Viggen (The Thunderbolt) or Saab 37 is a Swedish fighter aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1990 to replace the Saab J 35 Draken (The Kite or Dragon). ...

The specifications for the Gripen required the ability to operate from 800 m runways. Early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping were flown from within a 9 m × 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance was reduced by extending the relatively-large air brakes; using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down, enabling the wheel brakes to apply more force and tilting the canards forwards, making them into large air brakes and further pushing the aircraft down. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... LinkÃ¶ping [ËˆlÉªnÉ•Ã¸ËpÉªÅ‹] is a city in southern Sweden, with a population of 97,428 (2005). ... In aeronautics air brakes are a type of flight control used on aircraft to reduce speed during landing. ...

One interesting feature is the Gripen's ability to land on public highways, which is a part of Sweden's war defense strategy. Once on the ground, it can be refueled and re-armed in ten minutes by a five man mobile ground crew operating out of a truck, then take off again and resume flying sorties.

The Gripen uses the modern PS-05/A pulse-doppler radar. The PS-05/A is a pulse-doppler radar currently used by the JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft. ... Pulse-doppler is a radar system that functions by sending short pulses of radio energy and simultanously listens for the echo from objects using the same attenna. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ...

Operational history

The Gripen is in operational service with the Swedish Air Force, which has ordered 204 aircraft (including 28 dual-seaters). The Czech Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force also operate the Gripen, and currently lease 14 Swedish Air Force aircraft each, with the option of eventually acquiring them. In both cases two of the aircraft are dual-seaters. The Czech and the Hungarian Air Force are the first Gripen operators within NATO. Gripen has also been ordered by the South African Air Force (28 aircraft, including nine dual-seaters). The British based Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) is operating Gripen as its advanced fast jet platform for test pilots worldwide. Coat of arms of the Swedish Air Force. ... The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Czech Republic Army. ... The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army. ... This article is about the military alliance. ... The South African Air Force roundel The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ... The Empire Test Pilots School is a training establishment based at QinetiQ Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. ...

BAE Systems involvement

In 1995, Saab Military Aircraft and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems) formed the joint venture company Saab-BAe Gripen AB, with the goal of adapting, manufacturing, marketing and supporting Gripen internationally. The deal was to take advantage of BAe's global marketing experience. BAe designed an improved wing, which they manufactured, producing approximately 45% of export airframes. BAe also saw the Gripen as a complementary product to its existing aircraft, fitting between its Hawk light attack/trainer and the larger Tornado and Typhoon fighters. This cooperation was extended in 2001 with the formation of Gripen International for the same purpose. British Aerospace (BAe) was a UK aircraft and defence systems manufacturer, now part of BAE Systems. ... BAE Systems plc is the worlds third largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... The BAE Systems (BAE) Hawk is an advanced jet trainer which first flew in 1974 as the Hawker-Siddeley Hawk. ... The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine fighters, which was jointly developed by the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ... This article is about a fighter aircraft. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

In December 2004, Saab and BAE agreed that from January 2005 Saab would take full responsibility for marketing of the Gripen in light of Saab's increased export marketing capabilities. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Thales involvement

In June 2007 Thales Norway A/S and Saab signed a contract concerning the development of communications systems for the Gripen fighter. This order for the Norwegian company is the first to be awarded under the provisions of the Letter of Agreement signed by the Norwegian Department of Defence and Gripen International on 26 April 2007.

Potential sales

The Croatian Air Force has announced plans to replace their MiG-21 bis aircraft, possibly with either the JAS 39 Gripen or the F-16 Falcon.^[2] A decision will be reached by 2008/2009.^{[citation needed]} | Croatian Air Force and Defense (Croatian: ) is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Norway has signed a letter of agreement on co-operation in advanced development work on the future versions of the aircraft. The value of the deal, which will allow Norwegian companies to take part, is about 150 MNOK over two years.^[3]

The Romanian Air Force has announced that will replace their old MiG-21 aircraft in 2008, possibly with JAS 39 Gripen or Eurofighter Typhoon.^[4]^[5] The Romanian Air Force (Romanian: ) has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... This article is about a fighter aircraft. ...

India has shown interest in evaluating the Gripen for its tender for 126 Multi-role Combat Aircraft (see Indian MRCA Competition). Other nations that are showing interest in the Gripen are Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Chile, Brazil, among others.^[6] The Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) Competition, commonly known as the MRCA Tender is an ongoing competition to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. ...

Denmark has signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Defense Ministers of Sweden and Denmark to evaluate the Gripen, pending Denmark's future replacement of their fleet of 48 F-16s. Denmark has also requested for the new variants of Gripens to be developed. It will include the package of new avonics, larger and more powerful engine, larger payload and - most importantly - longer range.

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has decided to purchase Gripen to replace its ageing fleet of F-5E Tiger IIs. Reuters through Dagens Nyheter. Six aircraft have been ordered for delivery 2008-2012, with a potential additional 6 at a later date. There is also, (on 16 October 2007), leaked information from the RTAF indicated that a decision had been reached to acquire three SAAB-340 ERIEYE AEW&C.^[7]^[8] A source told Reuters that the F-16 had been preferred, but American legislation prevents sales to countries whose governments are overthrown. The Royal Thai Air Force (Thai: à¸à¸à¸‡à¸—à¸±à¸žà¸à¸²à¸à¸²à¸¨à¹„à¸—à¸¢, Kong Thab Akat Thai) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. ... The F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the United States, beginning in 1960s. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pronounced is known as a financial market data provider and a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ...

After this top secret period, Royal Thai Air Force annouced on October 17, 2007 by ACM. Chalit Pukprasuk officially announced that RTAF decided to procure 12 Gripen C/D to replace the aging F-5 E Tiger II. This project included of SAAB 340 AEW and other relating Swedish huge investment projects.

Variants

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x653, 79 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x653, 79 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ...

Operators

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2316x1627, 534 KB) Saab JAS 39C Gripen (identifier 9241) of the Czech Republic Air Force taxis for takeoff at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2316x1627, 534 KB) Saab JAS 39C Gripen (identifier 9241) of the Czech Republic Air Force taxis for takeoff at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x561, 117 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x561, 117 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... The Empire Test Pilots School is a training establishment based at QinetiQ Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. ...

Current operators

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ... The Czech Air Force is the air force branch of the Czech Republic Army. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary. ... The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... The South African Air Force roundel The South African Air Force (SAAF) (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag) is the air force of South Africa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Coat of arms of the Swedish Air Force. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Empire Test Pilots School is a training establishment based at QinetiQ Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Thailand. ... The Royal Thai Air Force (Thai: à¸à¸à¸‡à¸—à¸±à¸žà¸à¸²à¸à¸²à¸¨à¹„à¸—à¸¢, Kong Thab Akat Thai) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. ...

Incidents

Five Gripens have crashed; one prototype, one production aircraft and three in service with the Swedish Air Force. A sculpture in stainless steel by Thomas Qvarsebo, depicting a paper plane with a crumpled nose, has been placed on the spot of the 1993 crash. ...

Specifications (JAS 39 Gripen A/B)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (841x1000, 102 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (841x1000, 102 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ... Farnborough 2006 Farnborough 2006 The Red Arrows in formation at Farnborough The Airbus A380, at Farnborough The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace business which is held biannually in England. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, â€³ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... The pound or pound-mass (abbreviations: lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass (sometimes called weight in everyday parlance) in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... A turbofan engine with afterburner. ... Schematic diagram of high-bypass turbofan engine CFM56-3 turbofan, lower half, side view. ... The pound-force is a non-SI unit of force or weight (properly abbreviated lbf or lbf). The pound-force is equal to a mass of one pound multiplied by the standard acceleration due to gravity on Earth (which is defined as exactly 9. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... An F/A-18 Hornet breaking the sound barrier. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft, or cross-country speed and environmental conditions in unpowered aircraft. ... â€œMilesâ€ redirects here. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Thrust-to-weight ratio (where weight means weight at the Earths surface) is a dimensionless parameter characteristic of rocket and jet engines, and of vehicles propelled by such engines (typically space launch vehicles and jet aircraft). ... The BK 27 (also BK27 or BK-27) (German acronym for Bordkanone, translation: Board Cannon) is a 27 mm autocannon manufactured by Mauser (currently part of Rheinmetall). ... M242 Bushmaster autocannon on an M2 Bradley. ... The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. ... IRIS-T (Infra Red Imaging System Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled) is a German-led program to develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder. ... The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced am-ram), is a modern Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) capable of all weather day and night performance. ... UK medium-range semi-active radar guided air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by the Tornado F3 interceptor aircraft. ... The MBDA MICA (Missile dInterception et de Combat AÃ©rien, Interception and Air Combat Missile) is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire and forget missile system. ... The Meteor missile is a highly agile long-range air-to-air guided missile for future complex beyond-visual-range (BVR) threat scenarios built by MBDA. Meteor started out as the UK MoD Staff Requirement 1239, for a Beyond Visual Range Air-To-Air Missile (BVRAAM) system, to replace the... The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground tactical missile (AGM) designed for close air support. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a free-fall bomb, usually dropped from an aircraft, that is guided to its target by a laser designator The laser is directed at the target, illuminating it. ... The RBS 15 (Robot System 15) is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. ... Image:RBS-15 missile launch. ... Bombkapsel 90 (BK90) is a gliding stand-off submunitions dispenser, or cluster bomb, with 72 submunitions. ... A US B-1 Lancer releasing its payload of cluster bombs Cluster Munitions or Cluster Bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject a number of smaller submunitions (bomblets). The most common types are intended to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles. ...

References

^ FMV (Swedish Defence Material Administration), Gripen — Milestones
^ Croatian Ministry of Defence On-line, Agreement signed
^ Gripen homepage, Letter of Agreement with Norwegian MoD
^ (Romanian) SUA şi UE se intrec să ne doboare MiG-urile (Replacement of the MiG-21), from Cotidianul, January 2007
^ (Romanian) Romania replaces the MiG-21, Antena 3, 16th May 2007
^ Defense Industry Daily, JAS 39 Gripen: Sweden's 4th generation wildcard
^ Sveriges Television, Thailand to buy Gripen (Swedish)
^ Bangkok Post, Air force to get Gripen jet fighters
^ ^a ^b E24, Upgrading JAS and new super JAS planned (Swedish)

Cotidianul is a Romanian newspaper, published Monday to Saturday in Berliner format. ... Antena 3 TelevisiÃ³n is a Spanish television station. ...

External links

Contents

Development

Design

Operational history

BAE Systems involvement

Thales involvement

Potential sales

Variants

Operators

Current operators

Incidents

Specifications (JAS 39 Gripen A/B)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

External links

Related content

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

Related lists

See also

Contents

Development GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Design

Operational history

BAE Systems involvement

Thales involvement

Potential sales

Variants

Operators

Current operators

Incidents

Specifications (JAS 39 Gripen A/B)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

External links

Related content

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

Related lists

See also

Development