TSAMTO, August 2. The Swedish company Saab and the Brazilian Air Force have begun negotiations on the acquisition of a second batch of 26 multi-purpose F-39 Gripen E/F fighters.
As reported by Defensa.com This was stated by Saab CEO Mikael Johansson during a conference call on the company's financial results in the first half of the year.
During the conference, M. Johansson announced the acquisition of four additional Gripen E fighters under an option to the base contract of 2014. Thus, in total, the total order of the Brazilian Air Force at the moment is 40 units. in the first batch (36 +4 units). This will ensure that the decommissioning of obsolete combat aircraft will not lead to a loss of combat capability of the Brazilian Air Force.
The topic of purchasing the second batch of F-39 Gripen E/F fighters has already been touched upon by the Commander of the Brazilian Air Force, Lieutenant General Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior in April as part of the celebration of Fighter Aviation Day at the Santa Cruz Air Base (Rio de Janeiro). At the same time, the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, approved the signing of an amendment to the main contract providing for the purchase of four additional F-39 Gripen.
Since April, there has also been information about some changes concerning the project. The main one was the decision to assemble two-seat Gripen F fighters in Sweden. This will make it possible to produce more single-seat aircraft in Brazil (the number is not specified), reducing the cost of the process.
It is expected that two more fighters will be sent to Brazil this year. The delivery procedure should be the same as with the previous two: arrival by sea at the port of Itajai Navegantis in Santa Catarina, transportation by land to the local airport and, after a series of tests, departure to Gavian Peixota.
During the conference, M. Johansson also reported on "promising prospects" for increasing the number of Gripen customers in Latin America, based on the Brazilian experience (Colombia could potentially become the next buyer of the Swedish aircraft).
As TSAMTO has already reported, the contract is worth 39.3 billion rubles. Swedish. Saab signed a crown ($5.4 billion) for the development and production of 36 Gripen E/F aircraft with the Brazilian Air Force Command in October 2014. The agreement includes the purchase of aircraft, weapons, maintenance and training services. At the same time, 28 of the 36 aircraft will be made in the single–seat version "E" and 8 units - in the double "F".
As part of the Brazilian program, Saab is responsible for the construction of 13 Gripen E aircraft in Sweden, 8 more will be assembled in Brazil jointly by Swedish and Brazilian specialists. The remaining 15 fighters (8 single and 7 double) will be independently assembled by Embraer in Brazil (this was assumed by the initially approved plan).
The first Gripen E, which was a flight test aircraft equipped with measuring equipment (serial number FAB 4100), was delivered to Brazil in September 2020 to continue testing at the Flight Test Center (GFTC) in Gavian Peixota.
In November 2021, Saab demonstrated the first 6 production Gripen E aircraft and announced that it had begun transferring them to the Brazilian and Swedish Air Forces. Four fighters were intended for the Brazilian Air Force, two for the Swedish Air Force. It was assumed that the first four Gripen E's would be shipped to Brazil in the first half of 2022. The first pair of F-39E Gripen aircraft was delivered to the port of Navegantis (Santa Catarina) on board a cargo ship on April 1. Flight tests of these fighters began on April 6. The second couple will arrive in Brazil later.
It is planned that the first Gripen fighters will remain in the GFTC until the aircraft receives a military type certificate. Then they will be transferred to the combat squadron "Jaguar" of the 1st Air Defense Group (1 GDA) The Brazilian Air Force, stationed at the Anapolis Air Base (Goias State).
