news

Swedish Saab recently revealed the Swedish future for the first timefighterDemonstrating multiple details of the concept, Saab continues to independently work on manned and unmanned aircraft designs in preparation for Sweden to procure the next generation of aircraft by 2031.

During a media visit to the company's Linköping production plant in southern Sweden, the manufacturer showed a series of digitally designed demonstration models, but other physical models have been tested in wind tunnels, said Peter Nilsson, head of Saab's advanced platforms.

The images shown to the media were sparsely detailed, with just a small outline of the aircraft in white. Saab provided a different concept image of what the future aircraft would look like that the company stressed was just an "artist's impression."

Nilsson said that while Swedish authorities have yet to explain their specific requirements for the demonstrator, some details have been discussed, including aircraft size and "different configurations." Beyond that, "they want us to move fast," Nilsson said, adding that future developments will include rapid prototyping.

Additionally, Nielsen said a final systems review and an innovative concept review will be conducted in the near future to further define the way forward for the demonstration concept phase. Both of these future milestones are the result of the demonstration stakeholder meeting this spring.

So far, it has not been decided whether to use a manned or unmanned demonstrator.

“Even if the goal is to study manned aircraft, it could be unmanned because we are interested in some technology that does not require a pilot,” Nelson shared.

“But since the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration wants to see iterations, the designs don’t have to be very advanced”, but each design is expected to be more powerful than the last as the concept phase progresses.

In March this year, Saab signed a two-year contract with the Swedish Defense Material Administration to carry out "future fighter concept research" with a focus on manned and unmanned aerial vehicle design. The second phase of the future fighter announced by Sweden will run from 2026 to 2031, focusing on conceptual work and demonstrator development before the final procurement decision.

During this five-year period, Saab's new Rainforest Technology Laboratory and a range of R&D projects will have a significant impact on much of what is tested or developed.

Rainforest engineers are currently building a small, low-cost drone, named Ruby, to evaluate the flight of an aircraft built with new technologies such as 3D-printed composite wings, a 3D-printed fuselage, and integrated 4G-6G datalink connectivity – the avionics are developed from Saab’s Gripen E/F fighter.

Additionally, Saab showed off drone swarm concept art on the Rainforest website.

Additionally, the manufacturer revealed that its aviation division is working on another 150 “advanced” programs covering a wide range of areas including weapons, sensors, electronic warfare, command and control (C2), human-machine interface, artificial intelligence and autonomous software, and cyber and information technology vehicle engineering.

Nelson noted that growth in advanced projects will lead to the launch of development of another 120 projects “after the summer.”

Speaking about funding for the Future Fighter program to 2030, he said, "I don't need more money," but he believed rivals BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin would not "get out of bed" given the cost of developing the Gripen E/F aircraft.

Sweden previously worked with BAE on the UK's Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project until it decided to reconsider its future fighter program. Unless Sweden ultimately decides to go it alone, Saab faces the prospect of either rejoining with BAE on the Global Combat Air Program (which also includes Japan and Italy) or joining the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System/SCAF program.

"We as a nation have to decide by 2030 about the future of fighter aircraft," Tommy Petersson, deputy chief of the Swedish Air Force, said today. "We have initiated a four-year study within the armed forces so that we can come to a firm opinion."

Sweden has currently ordered 60 Gripen E jets, the first of which will be delivered to the Skaraborg Air Wing (F7) next year. The platform is expected to remain in service until at least 2060.