The SAAB JAS 39 Gripen

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The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls and is fully NATO interoperable. By the end of the 1970s, the Swedish Air Force found itself looking to advance their frontline fighter capabilities over that of the aging Saab Drakens and Viggens. The JAS 39 Gripen or Griffin then has a very sleek design incorporating a large-area, rear-set delta-wing configuration, removing the need for horizontal tailplanes while increasing internal fuel loads and external weapons-carrying capabilities. The wings would be low mounted on a slab-sided tubular fuselage frame, to which the gently sloped nose cone capped the front end. Under the nose cone would be the powerful search-and-tracking facility that allowed for look-down/shoot-down capability and multiple target track-while-scan and target assessment, all delivered to the pilot in real-time. The cockpit would be situated ahead of amidships and behind the nose cone assembly with a two-piece canopy featuring light framing and excellent all-around views.

A major redesign of the Gripen series, previously referred to as Gripen NG (Next Generation) or Super JAS, now designated JAS 39E/F Gripen began with deliveries to the Swedish and Brazilian Air Forces in 2019. Changes from the JAS C to JAS E include a larger fuselage, a more powerful engine, an increased weapons payload capability, and new cockpit, avionics architecture, electronic warfare system and other improvements. As the series title ‘Real to Replica’ suggests, the book also contains colour profiles, walk arounds, and how to build plastic models of the Gripen in popular scales, making this an ideal reference for the enthusiast and modeller alike.