AIRCRAFT PROGRAM

Single turbofan multirole fighter with 3 variants in productions. JAS 30 Gripen E has a larger fuselage, more powerful engine, increased weapons payload, new cockpit and improved avionics compared to C.

60% of the airframe is aluminium, 6% titanium, 5% other metals. The remaining 29% are mostly composite materials including the wing boxes, canards, fin, major doors and hatches and are manufactured by Saab.

Aircraft is powered by centrally located single turbofan engine. Tail fin is sweptback and mounted with antennas and positioned over exhaust port. Delta wings are mounted midway on fuselage with square tips for missile rails. Pair of canards aft of wing can move independently. This relaxed stability design, coupled with digital fly-by-wire controls maximises manoeuvrability of aircraft.

A/C/E variants seat a single pilot in a moderately high positioned cockpit with single panel windscreen with hinged canopy. B/D/F are two seater variants with extended cockpit canopy and second pilot seated behind the first. Pilots in JAC 39 Gripen C face 3 full colour multi-function displays and head-up display. E and F variants face single, full colour, wide area, touchscreen display and head up display. BAE Cobra helmet mounted display are offered as an option. In all variants pilots face a centrally mounted Hands On Throttle-And-Stick (HOTAS) controlling the displays and weapon systems.

Type variants

Variant	Launch/First flight	Production end
Saab JAS 39A	1982 / 1988	2002	Single-seater baseline variant.
Saab JAS 39B	1994 / 1996	2002	Two-seater baseline variant.
Saab JAS 39C/D	2002 / 2004		Upgraded single-seater/two-seater variants, JAS 39C has in-flight refuelling capability, includes Gripen Aggressor.
Saab JAS 39E/F	2015 / 2017		Improved single-seater/two-seater variants, JAS 39F devloped from JAS 39E, includes Gripen Maritime.

Recent news

• 03/06/2026:  NEWS:  Saab and Brazilian Air Force unveil first co-developed Gripen F
• 01/06/2026:  Press Release:  Helsing unveils Area 9 and launches RX-1, its first European robotics research platform
• 25/03/2026:  Press Release:  First Gripen E fighter produced in Brazil is unveiled
• 19/12/2025:  Press Release:  Saab receives order for development resources for Gripen
• 04/12/2025:  NEWS:  GKN advances work with FMV to deliver rapid UAV capability

View full news archive for the Saab JAS 39 Gripen.

See recent updates (latest 08/06/2026)