Swedish FAB fighter fleet could rise to 56

The FAB (Brazilian Air Force) reported that it must purchase another 20 Swedish Gripen E fighters to modernize Brazil's fighter fleet as part of the F-X2 Project. The expansion of the jet fleet will be due to the extension of the current contract, as CNN Brasil anticipated.

Last Tuesday (2), Brazil received the first Gripen F fighter provided for in the agreement signed with the Brazilian government in 2014. The original contract provided for the delivery of 36 aircraft by 2032.

The Gripen fighters are produced by the Swedish company Saab, which has a technology and information sharing agreement with Embraer. Despite the announcement made by the Brazilian and Swedish governments, the acquisition contract has not yet been signed.

"We are ready to start negotiations and hope to continue discussions on expanding the Brazilian Gripen fleet," Saab said in a statement.

The Gripen F is Saab's two-seat fighter model. In this version, there is space for a pilot and a co-pilot. For this reason, it is often used for training. Brazil is the company's first customer to have this series in its fleet.

The Gripen E is single-seater, that is, it carries only the pilot and is usually intended for combat.

Another difference between the versions is that the "E" series is a little smaller than the "F" when compared to the overall length. The two-seater model is 15.9 meters long and 8.6 meters wide.

According to Saab, the Gripen F brings together more advanced sensors, just like the Gripen E, but the addition of a second cockpit allows the execution of instructor-led missions in a fully operational fighter, since the simulation cannot reproduce the physiological and psychological reality of high-intensity combat.

The FAB air defense fleet is made up of A-1M, A-29 Super Tucano, F-39E Gripen and F-5M Tiger II aircraft. Only the F-39 Gripen aircraft are produced by the Saab company.

Source: CNN