weapons observation丨a comprehensive look at the gripen fighter aircraft
2024-09-27
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
an overview of the gripen fighter aircraft
■hao zeao and li lun
jas-39f gripen fighter jet. data pictures
not long ago, the thai air force’s arms purchase plan was finalized, and the swedish saab company’s jas-39e/f gripen fighter became the winning bidder.
as a light fighter, since the first prototype test flight in 1988, the gripen has developed 6 sub-models and been exported to several countries. now, on the basis of the previously purchased and installed jas-39c/d gripen, the thai air force has selected a new variant of the gripen.
so, what kind of fighter is the gripen? how competitive is it in the international arms trade market? what is the future development trend? please read the interpretation——
a light fighter designed based on the needs of the swedish air force
in the late 1970s, sweden, which was at the forefront of the cold war confrontation, was in urgent need of a new fighter aircraft to shoulder the heavy responsibility of airspace defense. at that time, the saab-35 "dragon" fighters and saab-37 "thunder" fighters installed by the swedish air force had lagged behind their opponents, and the development of new fighters was immediately put on the agenda.
since saab has the "right time, place and people", the new fighter aircraft is still developed by the company. the requirement is that the aircraft has multi-mission capabilities and can take off and land on the road to deal with the destruction of the airport runway.
objectively speaking, this fighter is a light fighter designed entirely based on the needs of the swedish air force.
since sweden is located at the forefront of the cold war confrontation and has many nearby nato allies, the designers believe that the range of this fighter does not need to be too far. at that time, advances in aero-engine technology made twin-engine fighters no longer have obvious advantages, so saab finally decided to design the fighter as a single-engine fighter. in order to save money and facilitate mass production, this fighter adopts a lightweight design.
this fighter was later named jas-39 "griffin". jas is the swedish abbreviation of "air combat, ground attack and reconnaissance".
in 1988, the first prototype of the gripen made its maiden flight. in the next five years, the gripen suffered prototype crashes and other accidents, and was in a cycle of "improvement-testing-improvement". it was not until 1993 that the first mass-produced gripen made its maiden flight, and in 1996 it officially entered service with the swedish air force. among them, the jas-39a "griffin" is a single-seat type, and the jas-39b "griffin" is a two-seat type.
although the cold war had ended at this time, this "late arrival" fighter still achieved the designer's original intention well.
the maximum take-off weight of the first-generation gripen was 14 tons, and its empty weight was 6.5 tons. the lightweight design brings better agility and smaller radar reflection cross-section. with its "lightweight" feature, it can also be relatively easily hidden in underground bunkers and can easily take off and land at short distances.
after mass production, the gripen further highlights its multi-mission capabilities. it can carry and launch air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, anti-ship missiles, and precision-guided bombs. it can also mount a reconnaissance pod and transform into a reconnaissance aircraft.
in terms of service performance, saab has given the aircraft good mission re-response capabilities, which significantly shortens the re-deployment time for air combat and ground attack missions.
in terms of body structure, the gripen inherits and develops the aerodynamic shape of the saab-37 thunder fighter. the body uses a lot of composite materials, which not only achieves steady improvement in flight performance, but also effectively reduces the cost of the fighter.
the combat radius of the first-generation "grippen" is 800 kilometers, which is lower than the "rafale", "typhoon" and su-27 fighters in the same period. in many other indicators, there is also a big gap between the gripen and new european fighters of the same period.
make up for relevant shortcomings through subsequent upgrades
when the jas-39 "griffin" entered service with the swedish air force, 16 years had passed since the establishment of the aircraft development project. the geopolitical landscape in europe has changed a lot, and fierce fighter air confrontation is no longer imminent. in order to make a profit, saab decided to promote the "griffin" to the international military trade market.
however, the "griffin" is, after all, a light fighter designed to meet the needs of the swedish air force. although the "small sparrow has all the internal organs" characteristics allow it to obtain multi-mission capabilities, factors such as its small size also limit its internal space. it is small and has limited capacity for load expansion.
in order to attract customers, saab began to make up for these shortcomings in a targeted manner. at the end of the 20th century, saab launched an improved model jas-39c/d "griffin" based on the first generation "griffin". the improved gripen is compatible with launching more types of ammunition, such as us-made aim-120, aim-9l and french-made mica air-to-air missiles, further improving its combat capabilities. based on the display suite of the first-generation "griffin", the jas-39c/d "griffin" has been replaced with a color cockpit display, making it easier for pilots to control the fighter aircraft. not only that, the improved "grippen" also added an aerial refueling device to extend the aircraft's airborne time.
the improved capabilities brought about by these measures, as well as the advantages of the gripen itself, such as its lower price and good overall performance, quickly attracted customers. in 1999, south africa purchased 22 jas-39c/d gripens. in 2007, the thai air force also installed the jas-39c/d "griffin".
at that time, f-16, mig-29 and su-27/30 fighter jets dominated the international arms trade market. in order to continue to get a share of the market, saab began a new round of competition for the gripen. tap your potential. in 2008, saab launched the gripen ng, which later evolved into the jas-39e/f gripen. through the modification and upgrade, the jas-39e/f "griffin" replaced the us-made f414 engine with greater thrust, installed a new infrared tracking sensor and an airborne active phased array radar, and also changed the main landing gear from measures such as moving the fuselage to the wings have expanded the amount of fuel the fuselage can carry.
with the increase in fuselage length and changes in the shape of wings and other components, the maximum takeoff weight of the jas-39e/f "griffin" has increased to 16.5 tons, the maximum flight speed has increased to mach 2, and the number of hardpoints has increased to 10. by being equipped with a modular reconnaissance pod and compatible with more types of advanced air-to-air missiles, the jas-39e/f gripen's multi-mission capabilities are further enhanced. subsequently, this type of aircraft received orders from hungary and other countries.
in 2014, the jas-39e/f gripen was exported to brazil; in 2023, the first gripen fighter production line in brazil will be put into operation. the export sales situation of "grypen" continues to improve.
export sales face the impact of multiple generations of models
behind the continued improvement in export sales of "grypen", there are also hidden worries.
on the one hand, this hidden worry comes from the competitive pressure of f-16, "rafale", "typhoon" and other fighters.
whether it is jas-39c/d or jas-39e/f, the gripen is inferior to fighters such as the rafale, typhoon and f-16 in terms of body length, wingspan, maximum range, and number of hardpoints. the limited maximum takeoff weight prevents it from installing more advanced electronic equipment, affecting its beyond-visual-range air combat capabilities and long-range detection capabilities. the inherent shortcomings of light fighters, such as insufficient upgrade potential, have also been highlighted in the competition.
it is worth noting that during the bidding process for fighter aircraft procurement from various countries, saab’s price for the gripen was not low. the higher quotation mainly comes from the increase in costs during upgrades, which objectively weakens the competitive advantage of the gripen in the international military trade market.
affected by the geopolitical pattern of "one superpower, many powers" after the cold war, potential gripen users such as slovakia and austria have turned to f-16, "typhoon" and other fighters.
on the other hand, hidden worries come from the actual and potential pressures from fifth- and sixth-generation fighters.
as the first fifth-generation fighter jet to be exported in large quantities, the f-35 fighter jet occupies a considerable market share with its cross-generation advantages. denmark, belgium, norway and other countries have purchased f-35 fighter jets for the "griffin" has cast a shadow over its export prospects. as the production quantity of f-35 fighter jets increases, its unit price may be further reduced.
the sixth-generation fighter aircraft being developed in europe has a potential impact on the future export of the gripen. currently, europe's sixth-generation fighter research and development projects are mainly the "storm" led by the united kingdom and the fcas two models jointly developed by european countries. sweden's project to develop its own sixth-generation fighter jet has been suspended. it can be inferred that if these two sixth-generation fighters are successfully developed, the export sales of the gripen will inevitably be hit by a double blow from fifth-generation fighters and sixth-generation fighters.
for the gripen, once this pattern is formed, even its significantly improved models will find it difficult to withstand the huge pressure brought by the advantage of the next generation.
the road to future development may be even more bumpy
despite facing many actual or potential challenges, at present, the modified and upgraded gripen is still a light fighter with good performance, strong overall combat capabilities, and high cost performance.
some countries that focus on strengthening their airspace defense capabilities will still choose multi-functional fighters like the gripen based on their actual needs. especially at present, affected by factors such as the general downturn in the world economy, some countries may turn to such light fighters with balanced overall performance and relatively reasonable prices.
on this basis, saab and the swedish air force obviously have more ideas. for example, the gripen fighter is used with self-produced early warning aircraft, airborne weapons and equipment, ground support equipment, etc. to provide small and medium-sized countries with a "combination package" military procurement plan centered on the gripen fighter. for another example, consider using the gripen to launch small micro-satellites with emergency response properties to obtain backup sensing capabilities after the existing satellite system is destroyed or interfered with during wartime.
to some extent, these attempts are both an innovation and a helplessness. it is based on an unavoidable fact - when sweden's domestic sixth-generation aircraft project has been stopped and the development of european sixth-generation aircraft is not progressing smoothly, the "grippen" will also be used as the air combat weapon of some countries for a long period of time. node exists.
this reality more or less determines the future development path of the gripen - based on its positioning as a light fighter, it will continue to tap into its potential and continuously integrate new technologies to improve its combat performance.
on the one hand, based on the existing jas-39e/f "griffin", saab may improve the existing jas-39e/f "griffin" by updating airborne electronic equipment, installing radar with longer detection range and better performance, and improving information exchange capabilities. the "grippen" will be upgraded to have some characteristics of fifth-generation fighters, and strive to form a high-low match with fifth-generation fighters and future sixth-generation fighters.
on the other hand, the swedish air force's own "grippen" may develop in the direction of seamless integration with nato air combat systems and integrate into the "combat cloud" jointly developed by european countries to realize the perception and attack of longer-distance targets.
it is not easy to realize this kind of potential tapping, because the gripen, as a light fighter, has "inherent deficiencies" - the weight of the equipment that the aircraft body can carry is limited.
moreover, saab is relatively small, and many of the core equipment of the gripen rely on manufacturing in other countries. with the integration into the nato air combat system, the source of core equipment of the "griffin" will be wider. although its options will become larger, it will inevitably further affect the degree of independence in the research and development of the "griffin".
from this, it can be predicted that the positioning and use of the "grippen" for a long time to come will still be a multi-functional fighter focused on airspace defense. if it wants to efficiently carry out long-range strike, deterrence and other tasks, it needs to continue to be upgraded.
photo courtesy: yang ming
(source: china military network - people's liberation army daily)
