Saab JAS 39 Gripen

JAS-39 Gripen

Taken from Waypoint 2 By Michael Mykytyn & Dimitris Dranidis

Users: Sweden, Czech Republic

Potential Buyers: Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, South Africa and Brazil.

Roles & Mission: The Gripen is an advanced multirole combat aircraft designed as a follow-on to the successful JA-37 Viggen. Designed by SAAB Military Aircraft , Ericsson Microwave, Volvo Aero and Celsius Aerotech; this semi-stealthy fighter is charged with defending neutral Sweden’s territories with advanced air to air, air to ground, anti-shipping and reconnaissance capabilities. As with previous Saab fighters, emphasis has been given to a small size and weight, serviceability by conscripts, STOL performance and overall small turn-around times to optimally serve the Swedish air force’s doctrine of prolonged wartime operations from dispersal bases. It is normally expected to operate in close conjunction with airborne Erieye radar-equipped platforms for optimum A2A coverage. This aircraft is gradually replacing the aging Viggen in the skies over Sweden. The Gripen is actively marketed by a consortium between SAAB and MBDA and has already scored an export success with the Czech air force.

Strengths: A powerful jack of all trades, this aircraft is designed to perform all missions expected of a combat aircraft during wartime. The Gripen is a fierce predator in the air to air role and can carry out attack missions with full self-escorting capability. Like most Swedish combat aircraft, it has a significant STOL/rough-field capability and is expected to operate from remote dispersion airfields and highway strips throughout the Swedish homeland. The built-in serviceability allows fast turn-around times, particularly for light A2A loads. The improved C version will introduce a new IRST sensor for additional “silent attack” options. This will also be retrofitted to A-models later.

Weaknesses: The strict limits on the basic airframe’s size and weight have taken their toll on the payload/radius performance of the Gripen, just as was the case with the Viggen. Range and combat radius is not too bad at altitude, but sharply deteriorates at low-level. While this is not of criticalimportance to the Swedish air force, export customers with an emphasis on low-level operations might find the Gripen to be a bit short-legged for their needs. A number of very interesting weapon options originally planned for the aircraft, like the ALARM antiradiation missile, the M64 LGB and the RB-105 Taurus (KEPD) tactical cruise missile, have been cancelled, leaving the aircraft with an unimpressive diversity of stores for the strike role. The only other weakness noted with current Gripen inventories is the lack of sufficient numbers, partially a result of the high unit costs.

Game Stats:
Max Speed: 900 kts Length: 14.1 Meters
Span: 8 meters Weight: 4990 kg
Crew: 1 Climb Rate: 255 m/s at SL

Versions (H3-DB2000):
JAS-39A (1996): As described.
JAS-39A (2002): New store: RB-15 Mk3 AShM (improved RB-15). Planned acquisition of M64 LGBs (with LU-2000 LRMTS for designation) has been cancelled.
JAS-39C (2002): As JAS-39A (2002) with modifications. Optical camera replaced with OTIS IRST.
JAS-39A (2004): As JAS-39A (2002) with modifications. Optical camera replaced with OTIS IRST. New store: RB-98 IRIS-T SR-AAM. This missile replaces the RB-74 in all loadouts.
JAS-39C (2004): As JAS-39C (2002) with new store: RB-98 IRIS-T SR-AAM. This missile replaces the RB-74 in all loadouts.
JAS-39A (2006): As JAS-39A (2004) with new store: Recon Pod.
JAS-39C (2006): As JAS-39C (2004) with new store: Recon Pod.
JAS-39A (2007): As JAS-39A (2006) with new store: Meteor MR-AAM. This missile replaces the RB-99 AMRAAM in most loadouts.
JAS-39C (2007): As JAS-39C (2006) with a new weapon, the Meteor MR-AAM.This missile replaces the RB-99 AMRAAM in most loadouts.

Current Service:
Swedish Airforce- Svenska Flygvapnet:
Satenas Airbase: 2 JA-39A Divisions
Angelholm-Barkakra Airbase: 2 JA-39A Divisions
Malmslatt Airbase: Various JA-39 (various) testing

DB2000 Entries: