The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organization and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world.
Specifications of JAS 39 Gripen
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 (2 for JAS 39B/D)
- Length: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)
- Empty weight: 5,700 kg (14,600 lb)
- Loaded weight: 8,500 kg (18,700 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Volvo Aero RM12 afterburning turbofan
- Dry thrust: 54 kN (12,100 lbf)
- Thrust with afterburner: 80.5 kN (18,100 lbf)
- Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
- Length (two-seater): 14.8 m (48 ft 5 in)
Performance
- Maximum speed:
- At altitude: Mach 2 (2,130 km/h, 1,320 mph)
- Combat radius: 800 km (500 mi, 432 nmi)
- Ferry range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi) with drop tanks
- Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
- Wing loading: 336 kg/m² (68.8 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.97
Armament
- 1 × 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon 120 rounds
- 6 × Rb.74 (AIM-9) or Rb 98 (IRIS-T)
- 6 × Rb.99 (AIM-120) or MICA
- 4 x Rb.71 (Skyflash) or Meteor
- 4 x Rb.75
- 2 x KEPD.350
- 4 x GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
- 4 x rocket pods 13.5 cm rockets
- 2 x Rbs.15F anti-ship missile
- 2 x Bk.90 cluster bomb
- 8 x Mark 82 bombs
- 1 x ALQ-TLS ECM pod
| JAS 39 Gripen | |
|---|---|
| Role | Multirole fighter |
| Manufacturer | Saab AB |
| First flight | 9 December 1988 |
| Introduced | 1 November 1997 |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users | Swedish Air Force South African Air Force Czech Air Force Hungarian Air Force |
| Unit cost | US$ 40–60 million |
Saab JAS 39 Gripen Design
In designing the Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft, several layouts were studied. Saab ultimately selected an unstable canard design. The canard configuration gives a high onset of pitch rate and low drag, enabling the aircraft to be faster, have longer range and carry a larger payload.
The combination of delta wing and canards gives the Gripen significantly better takeoff and landing performance and flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics make it a "programmable" aircraft. It also has a built-in electronic warfare unit, making it possible to load more ordnance onto the aircraft without losing self defence capabilities.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen affords more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft used by Sweden, and its operating costs are about two thirds of those for JA 37 Viggen.
In the Swedish Air Force's list of requirements was the ability to operate from 800 m runways. Early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping were flown from within a 9 m × 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance was reduced by extending the relatively large air brakes; using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down, enabling the wheel brakes to apply more force and tilting the canards downwards, making them into large air brakes and further pushing the aircraft down.
Radar
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen uses the modern PS-05/A pulse-doppler X-band radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi, and based on the latter's advanced Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier (which inspired the Eurofighter's CAPTOR radar as well).
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen radar is capable of detecting, locating, identifying and automatically tracking multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air, in all weather conditions. It can guide four air to air missiles (e.g. AIM-120 AMRAAM, MBDA MICA) simultaneously at four different targets.
On March the 27th, 2009, Saab and Selex Galileo signed an agreement for joint development of the radar based on Selex Galileo's AESA Vixen and PS-05/A.
Cockpit
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen cockpit has three full colour head down displays and digital emergency instrument presentation unique to the aircraft. The cockpit layout provides a human-machine interface that eases pilot workload substantially and increases situational awareness, but still provides substantial future growth potential. The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen cockpit provides a display area some 30 percent larger than that available in most other fighters, with the multi-function displays taking up around 75 percent of available space.
It is dominated by three large (15.7 x 21 cm) active-matrix, liquid crystal, multi-function displays and a wide angle (20 x 28 degree) head-up display (HUD). The displays are equipped with light sensors for computer assisted brightness and contrast control.
Expeditionary capabilities
One interesting feature is the Gripen's ability to take off and land on public roads, which was part of Sweden's war defence strategy. The aircraft is designed to be able to operate even if the air force does not have air superiority.
During the Cold War, the Swedish Armed Forces were preparing to defend against a possible invasion from the Soviet Union. Even though the defensive strategy in principle called for an absolute defence of Swedish territory, military planners calculated that Swedish defense forces could eventually be overrun. For that reason, Sweden had military stores dispersed all over the country, in order to maintain the capacity of inflicting damage on the enemy even if military installations were lost.
Accordingly, among the requirements from the Swedish Air Force was that the Gripen fighter should be able to land on public roads near military stores for quick maintenance, and take off again. As a result, the Gripen fighter can be refueled and re-armed in ten minutes by a five man mobile ground crew operating out of a truck, and then resume flying sorties.
In the post-Cold War era, these dispersed operation capabilities have proved to be of great value for a different purpose. The Gripen fighter system is expeditionary in nature, and therefore well suited for peace-keeping missions worldwide, which has become the new main task of the Swedish Armed Forces.
