Saab Gripen E/F

With Saab facing significant headwinds in large western markets, recent news indicates that the company has set its sights on smaller prospective deals elsewhere in the world.

Sweden is beginning to ponder what follows the Gripen as it looks to preserve its national combat aircraft development capability.

Continuing an annual tradition dating back to 1957, Aviation Week Network editors honored a wide variety of industry accomplishments.

Sweden has awarded contracts to Saab and GKN Aerospace to begin studies into future combat aircraft and propulsion development.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

RTAF has released a white paper on new procurement requirements, including fighter replacements, domestically produced munitions and anti-drone technology.

Sweden’s Saab received its first order for the Gripen C/D in 14 years when Hungary decided to expand its air force’s fleet of the combat aircraft.

The passive, long-range sensor is being added to the Brazilian Air Force inventory through the Gripen acquisition program.

China’s own upgrades are driving other nations in the region toward change.

An ongoing software problem haunts Lockheed Martin’s production and modernization agenda for the F-35 as a raft of new competitors hit key milestones in 2024.

New-build deliveries of fighter aircraft are expected to eclipse 5,000 airframes globally, for a total value of nearly $460 billion USD. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is expected to capture 34% of that total.

Sweden’s government appears to be softening its stance toward a potential transfer of Saab Gripen combat aircraft to Ukraine.

The contract is part of a multi-phase project on which GKN has been working since 2019 with Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) and Saab.

Prague countered critics of its F-35 decision, who claim the aircraft is too expensive for the Eastern European country to operate.

The Czech government has approved the acquisition of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

British Eurofighter Typhoons and Norwegian Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters have performed their first landings and takeoffs from road runways.

The Czech Republic has claimed that acquiring and operating Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be cheaper than operating Saab’s Gripen E.

The two countries declare such a transfer only would take place once the infrastructure at Ukrainian airfields is made suitable for the aircraft’s operation.

In June 2022, Sweden’s defense materiel agency FMV awarded a contract to Saab to begin studies on the next generation of combat aircraft.

When Saab test pilot Andre Brannstrom launches the Gripen E into the skies above the RIAT, it will be the type’s debut display outside Scandinavia.

Embraer is looking to grab a slice of Europe’s defense modernization pie with sales of the C-390 airlifter and A-29 Super Tucano.

Sweden’s defense materiel agency FMV is awaiting political approval to begin studies into a new-generation combat aircraft beyond the new Saab Gripen E.

Hungary has joined the Czech Republic and Poland in the protection of Slovakia’s airspace.

Five European countries are proposing the development of a new short-range air-to-air missile capable of countering future combat aircraft.

The opening of the new line establishes Gripen production in South America as Brazil's neighbors shop for new fighters.