The Swedish defense procurement agency Försvarets materielverk (FMV) on April 4, 2023, at a ceremony at the Swedish Malmen airbase in Linkoping, handed over to the Swedish Air Force the first three Grob G120TP turboprop training aircraft manufactured by the German aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft SE, out of ten ordered. The aircraft, which received the official military designation Sk 40 in the Swedish Air Force, have the tail numbers "40198", "40199" and "40200".
One of the first three received by the Swedish Air Force turboprop training aircraft Grob G120TP (Swedish designation Sk 40, tail number "40200"). Malmen, 04.04.2023 (c) Louise Levin / Swedish Armed ForcesThe contract for the purchase of seven (with an option for three more) Grob G120TP aircraft was concluded by FMV with Grob Aircraft in May 2021, the option for three aircraft was transferred to a firm contract in December 2022.
Deliveries of all 10 aircraft will be made during 2023. [...]
Grob G120TP (Sk 40) aircraft were purchased as aircraft of the main stage of flight personnel training to replace Saab 105 jet training aircraft operated in Sweden since 1967 (designation in the Swedish Air Force Sk 60). Start training cadets on Sk 40 at the Flight School (Flygvapnets flygskola) stationed at the Malmen Airbase The Swedish Air Force is planned from August 2024.
Now the Swedish Air Force nominally has about 70 (according to other sources, 46) Saab 105 (Sk 60) aircraft out of 150 delivered in 1967-1972, but in fact only 35 of them are in operation. All Swedish aircraft of this type that are still in service now underwent remotorization in the 1990s with the installation of new Williams Rolls FJ44 engines.
In the Swedish Air Force, Saab 105 aircraft are used for both basic (Grundlägande Flygutbildning - GFU) and advanced (Grundlägande Taktisk Utbildning - GTU) training stages. It is reported that the new training system should be based on the use of the purchased Grob G120TP aircraft for the basic training stage (GFU), while the advanced training stage (GTU) from 2025 is planned to be carried out first at the International Flight School in Italy on the Leonardo M-346 Master combat training aircraft used there and then in Sweden. directly on two-seat Saab JAS-39D Gripen fighters.
Having chosen the Grob G120TP aircraft for the basic training stage, the Swedish Air Force actually chose the most budget solution possible (previously, on the contrary, it was reported that the Swedish Air Force was interested in purchasing Pilatus PC-21 aircraft). Grob G120TP has been serially produced since 2012, by now at least 180 are used or ordered in military aviation in 12 countries planes.
Transfer of the first three turboprop training aircraft Grob G120TP (Swedish designation Sk 40) to the Swedish Air Force. Malmen, 04.04.2023 (c) FMV and Jeppe Gustafsson
