Brazilian Pilot Takes Domestically Made Gripen E to Sky For the First Time

Supported by Sweden, Saab partnered with Brazillian Embraer and manufactured Gripen E fighters in Brazil for the Brazilian Air Force. The Saab Group will produce up to 72 Gripen E/F for Brazil. The current contract comprises 28 Gripen E and 8 Gripen F fighter aircraft, with a comprehensive support and training package and an industrial and technological benefits programme.

In 2018, Saab unveiled the Brazilian aerostructures facility, which will eventually accommodate up to 200 employees in 2024. The parts produced there will be used to manufacture Gripens that will be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force.

Those structures will then undergo final assembly at Embraer’s nearby plant in Sao Paulo and Saab’s main Gripen production hub in Linköping, Sweden.

Brazil has officially begun manufacturing fighter jets with the start of production at a new facility that makes sections of the Saab Gripen, Swedish aerospace company Saab announced July 2019.

In a recent tweet, Saab has announced on August 20 that Brazilian pilot Captain Christiano flew Gripen over Baltic sea for 49 minutes, making it the first sortie independently flown by a Brazilian citizen.

Let’s celebrate! On August 20th, the first flight by a Brazilian citizen with the Brazilian Gripen took place. Major Aviator Cristiano from @fab_oficial flew for 49 minutes over the Baltic Sea. Congratulations, Major! Congratulations, Brazil! #TrueCollaboration #BrazilianGripen pic.twitter.com/2didDJIwOV

— Saab AB (@Saab) August 21, 2020

Saab Aeronáutica Montagens, a new manufacturing plant located near Sao Paulo, has begun producing Gripen E/F aerostructures, including the tail cone and front fuselage for the single-seat Gripen E version of the jet. It will eventually also make the brakes, rear fuselage, wing box and front fuselage for the two-seater “F” model, Saab stated.

Saab’s Gripen fighter is designed to operate in harsh environments and defeat the most advanced global threat. A unique element of the avionics design is that Gripen E’s system can be updated quickly, maintaining technological superiority against any adversary, says Jonas Hjelm, Senior Vice President and head of Saab business area Aeronautics.

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