First Brazilian-built Gripen E completes maiden flight

Flown by a Saab test pilot, the aircraft took off from Embraer’s industrial complex in São Paulo State to verify its main systems and validate its flight characteristics.

The first Gripen E fighter aircraft produced in Brazil by Embraer has completed its maiden flight from Embraer’s industrial complex in Gavião Peixoto, State of São Paulo.

Conducted by a Saab test pilot, the mission verified the performance of the aircraft’s main systems and validated its flight characteristics. The flight confirmed the aircraft’s expected performance and generated data for the continuation of the production flight-test and acceptance campaign ahead of delivery to the Brazilian Air Force.

Officially unveiled on 25 March following final assembly by Embraer, the aircraft is the first of 15 units planned for production in Brazil under the current programme. Gavião Peixoto is home to the only Gripen production line outside Sweden and forms an integral part of Saab’s global manufacturing and supply network.

The flight reflects the Brazilian Air Force’s decision to structure the programme around technology transfer, local industrial participation and the development of long-term national competencies. Over more than a decade, this approach has established the infrastructure, knowledge and industrial expertise in Brazil to manufacture, integrate and test the fighter.

Bosco da Costa Junior, President & CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, says: “It confirms the success of a long-term strategy that combined the vision of the Brazilian Air Force, Saab’s technological expertise and Embraer’s engineering and industrial capabilities.”

Marcus Wandt, Head of Saab’s Business Area Aeronautics, adds: “This maiden flight shows that Gripen production in Brazil has reached a new level of maturity.”

Following completion of the production flight-test and acceptance campaign, the aircraft will be prepared for delivery to the Brazilian Air Force. It will subsequently be transferred to Anápolis Air Base in Goiás State, where it will join the First Air Defense Group (1st GDA), which currently operates the Gripen E.

The contract signed with the Brazilian Government in 2014 covers the development and production of 36 Gripen aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force: 28 single-seat Gripen E and eight two-seat Gripen F. Deliveries began in 2020 and ten aircraft have been delivered to date.

On 21 July, Embraer and Saab signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) establishing the framework to expand cooperation between the companies and advance negotiations towards further contracts. The agreement contemplates the potential production of 20 additional Gripen aircraft at Gavião Peixoto for domestic and international opportunities, complementing Saab’s final assembly line in Linköping, Sweden.