On 9 December 1988, the light multirole fighter JAS 39, developed by the Swedish aerospace company Saab AB, performed its maiden flight. The aeroplane was flown by Stig Holmström, a company test pilot.
Yet in the early 1970s, just when the Saab 37 Viggen fighter aircraft entered operational service, the Swedish military authorities began defining the requirements for its successor. The new aeroplane had to comply with the specific requirements of the Swedish Air Force, based on the doctrine of dispersed operations. These included short take-off and landing capability, ease of maintenance, minimal personnel and ground support requirements, as well as a short turnaround time for refuelling and re-arming. Based on the initial conclusions drawn from the operational service of the Viggen, the new fighter had to be smaller while retaining the same – or even improved – combat capabilities.
As usual, Swedish neutrality was taken into consideration and, as with previous fighters, the new aircraft had to be developed and manufactured domestically. Once again, the task of creating the aeroplane was assigned to the Saab company.
In 1979, following early studies into the future fighter, the Swedish government launched a programme called JAS. This abbreviation, later incorporated into the official name of the aircraft, stands for Jakt (literally “hunting”), Attack and Spaning (“attack” and “reconnaissance”), and describes the multirole characteristics of the new aeroplane. The goal was to create a versatile, all-in-one platform capable of performing air-to-air interception duties, close air support tasks and reconnaissance missions, thus eliminating the need to develop several dedicated versions of the aeroplane for each of the aforementioned roles.
One year later, a joint-venture company named Industrigruppen JAS was established. It consisted of some of Sweden’s leading industrial and aviation companies, such as Saab-Scania, Volvo Flygmotor and LM Ericsson, as well as the Swedish Armed Forces. Although branded as Saab and developed under the company’s supervision, the creation of the new Swedish fighter was, in fact, a joint effort of several domestic companies.
On 26 April 1987, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Saab company, the new JAS 39 fighter was officially unveiled to the public. The aircraft was named Gripen (“griffin”) as the result of a public competition.
Although its maiden flight was initially scheduled to follow shortly after the roll-out, it was delayed for more than a year due to issues with the flight-control system. Finally, on 9 December 1988, the Gripen took to the skies.
More information about the aircraft can be found in the following articles:
- 9 December 1988 – first flight of Saab JAS 39 Gripen
- Saab JAS-39C Gripen
- Fourteen years of fourteen Gripens in the Czech Air Force
- Czech Gripen fighters reached another milestone
- Gripen crews train over the Czech Republic – exercise Lion Effort 2024
- 20th anniversary of Gripen service with the Czech Air Force
