Sweden's road-basing multirole fighter, now central to Ukraine's future air force
Gripen E operating from short runways (Saab)
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Ukraine will [also] soon be receiving the Gripen fighter aircraft.
Saab says an order for roughly 40 Gripen E fighters would be large enough to support full aircraft production in Canada.
The JAS 39 Gripen has been in service since 1996.
Entity 'Gripen E' mentioned in report
The JAS 39 is arguably one of the most impressive fourth-generation fighters currently on the market.
Entity 'Gripen' mentioned in report
The Gripen uses the Meteor differently, as the Gripen isn’t a high-altitude interceptor.
Bis mindestens Ende 2026 sollen schwedische JAS-39-Gripen und eine Visby-Korvette an der Überwachung und am Schutz der finnischen territorialen Integrität mitwirken.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish single-engine multirole fighter built around the roles in its name: jakt, attack, and spaning, or fighter, attack, and reconnaissance. It was designed for Sweden's dispersed air-base concept, where aircraft must operate from short roads, austere bases, and small support teams.
Gripen combines modern sensors, data links, air-to-air missiles, precision strike weapons, and anti-ship options with comparatively low operating costs. Its small support footprint and rapid turnaround model make it attractive to air forces that need credible fighter capability without the infrastructure burden of larger twin-engine aircraft.
The Gripen programme has been shaped by export partnerships, technology transfer, and local industrial workshare. That makes the aircraft strategically important for Sweden because it supports an independent fighter industry while giving operators such as Brazil, Czechia, Hungary, South Africa, and Thailand access to a Western-compatible fighter ecosystem.
Dimensional and weight figures follow Saab's published Gripen E-series data; C/D figures differ slightly.
Publicly reported milestones from Saab announcements and defense media.
The first JAS 39 Gripen prototype flew on 9 December 1988, launching Sweden's fourth-generation fighter program.
The Gripen entered operational service with the Swedish Air Force, replacing the Viggen and Draken fleets.
Brazil contracted 36 Gripen E/F (designated F-39), including local assembly of part of the fleet by Embraer — the launch export order for the E/F generation.
The re-engined, enlarged Gripen E with GE F414G power, ES-05 AESA radar and expanded payload made its maiden flight on 15 June 2017.
Royal Thai Air Force Gripen C/Ds reportedly flew the type's first combat strike missions during the Thailand–Cambodia border clashes.
Saab booked a SEK 5.3 billion order for three Gripen E and one Gripen F for Thailand — the first batch of a planned 12 — making Thailand the first Asia-Pacific E/F customer.
Ukraine and Sweden signed a letter of intent covering an eventual fleet of 100–150 Gripen E for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Saab confirmed a SEK 24.6 billion (~$2.5 billion) contract for 16 new-build Gripen E for Ukraine, with deliveries via FMV in 2029–2030; Sweden separately plans to donate 16 used Gripen C/Ds from early 2027.
The Gripen embodies Sweden's Cold War-era dispersed-basing doctrine (Bas 90): the airframe is designed to operate from ~600-800 m stretches of reinforced highway, be turned around in 15-25 minutes by small conscript-augmented ground crews, and survive by never concentrating on large, targetable airbases. As long-range precision strike proliferates, this doctrine — long viewed as a Swedish idiosyncrasy — is increasingly studied by NATO air forces under the Agile Combat Employment concept, and it is a core argument in Saab's export pitch.
Commercially, the Gripen occupies the niche of a lower-cost, low-logistics single-engine multirole fighter positioned against the F-16V and, at the high end, the F-35. Its record is mixed: it has repeatedly lost flagship competitions to the F-35, but the E/F generation gained momentum in 2025-2026 with Thailand's first E/F batch, Colombia's selection, and above all Ukraine's letter of intent for up to 100-150 aircraft followed by a firm 16-aircraft order — potentially the largest Gripen program ever if fully realized. Reported first combat use by Thai C/Ds in the 2025 border clashes added an operational data point the program previously lacked.
The program's constraints are equally structural. The GE F414 engine and other US-origin content leave exports subject to American ITAR approval, a lever that has shaped past campaigns; production capacity is modest compared with Lockheed Martin's, making the 2029-2030 Ukraine delivery timeline and any ramp toward triple-digit fleets a significant industrial test; and Sweden's own future combat air choices (FCAS-adjacent studies) will determine how long the E/F remains the top of Saab's fighter line. The Gripen is therefore best assessed not as a peer to fifth-generation types but as a credible, survivable mass option for air forces prioritizing sortie generation, dispersal and cost per flight hour.
Gripen dispersed operations (Saab)
Watch on YouTubeGripen practicing landing and take off from a road base (Saab)
Watch on YouTubeSwedish aviation industry: the smallest nation building its own fighters (Makayev)
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