Saab Gripen

Saab JAS-39 Gripen
Missing image
Gripen.750pix.jpg



A two-seat Gripen
Description
RoleSwing-role combat aircraft (Fight, Attack, Maritime attack, Reconnaissance)
Crew1 or 2
First Flight9 dec 1988
Entered Service1996
ManufacturerSaab-Scania
Dimensions
Length14.1 m
Wingspan8.4 m
Height4.5 m
Wing area274,9 ft²25.54 m²
Weights
Empty6620 kg
Loaded8720 kg
Maximum takeoff14000 kg
Powerplant
EnginesOne Volvo Aero RM12 afterburning turbofan
Thrust54 dry, 80 kN afterburn
Performance
Maximum speedMach 2 at altitude
Combat range (max load)500 miles800 km
Service ceiling50,000 ft15,000 m
Rate of climbft/minm/min
Thrust/weight6.2 N/kg
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Armament27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon

6 AIM-9 Sidewinder, 4 AIM-120 AMRAAM; or MICA
Air-to-ground weapons include: AGM-65 Maverick, KEPD 150, Various laser guided bombs, rocket pods, etc.
Air-to-sea weapons include: Rb15F
It will be the first fighter to test the new MBDA Meteor missile system

The Saab JAS-39 "Gripen" (Griffin) is a fighter aircraft from Sweden manufactured by Saab. The fighters are sold by the Gripen International corporation, a joint venture between Saab and BAE Systems.

Gripen is designed for the high demands put on flying performance, flexibility, effectiveness, survivability and availability the future air combat environment will put. The designation JAS stands for Jakt (Fighter), Attack (Attack) and Spaning (Reconnaissance) and means every Gripen can fulfill all three mission types.

Flying properties and performance are optimised for fighter missions with high demands on speed, acceleration and turning performance. The combination of delta wing and canards gives the JAS 39 Gripen very good take off and landing performance and superb flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics makes it a "programmable" aircraft. With the built in flexibility and development potential the whole JAS 39 Gripen system will retain and enhance its effectiveness and potential well into the 21st century.

Gripen affords far more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft, and its operating costs will only be about two thirds of those for Viggen, in spite of it being able to in all areas perform at least as well or slightly better, and in some cases much better. This while not being an expensive aircraft to purchase either.

The specification for the Gripen says that must be able to operate from 800 m runways, so actual take off and landing distance is significantly less, and since early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping are flown from within a 9 m x 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance is reduced by extending the relatively large airbrakes; using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down enabling the brakes to be used harder; tilting the canards forwards, making them into large airbrakes and also pushing the nose gear — which also has brakes — down.

Several layouts were studied, in the end an unstable canard layout was adopted, as it would give the greatest benefits to performance, because it gives a high onset of pitch rate and low drag enabling the aircraft to be faster, have longer range, and carry a larger useful payload.

Already in operational service with the Swedish Air Force which has ordered 204 aircraft (including 28 dual-seater), the Gripen has also been ordered by the South African Air Force (28 aircraft). Hungary and the Czech Republic have each ordered 14 Gripens.

The aircraft cost US$ 25 million in 1998.

Crashes

In all four Gripens have crashed, a by no means extreme number for this kind of aircraft. Of those crashes two occured after delivery to the Swedish Air Force. As a comparison the test series of Viggen saw seven crashes.

  • In February 1989 a prototype crashed when landing in Linköping. The accident was filmed by a crew from Sveriges Television's Aktuellt. The pilot ejected safely.
  • In August 1993 a Gripen crashed on the central Stockholm island of Långholmen during a flight show. The pilot, the same man as in 1989, ejected safely. No one on the ground was seriously injured.
  • In September 1999 a Gripen from F7 Såtenäs crashed over lake Vänern during a dog fight exercise. It had gotten too close to the other aircraft and its tail vortex. The pilot ejected safely.
  • In June 2005 a Gripen from F17 Kallinge crashed in the Hanö bay in the Baltic outside Utklippan. The pilot ejected safely and could be rescued by helicopter. The cause of the accident is still to be determined.

External links

  • Saab Gripen (http://www.gripen.com/) - Official site
  • Saab Gripen links (http://dmoz.org/Society/Military/Aviation/Aircraft/Fighters/JAS-39_Gripen/) - dmoz

See also


Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers

Airports | Airlines | Air forces | Aircraft weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation

de:Saab Gripen fr:Saab JAS 39 Gripen id:Saab Gripen ja:JAS39 (戦闘機) fi:JAS 39 Gripen pt:JAS 39 Gripen sv:JAS 39 Gripen

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