{"id":753119,"date":"2026-08-29T02:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753119\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T02:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T02:26:26","slug":"saabs-gripen-f-two-seater-takes-to-the-air-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753119\/","title":{"rendered":"Saab’s Gripen F Two-Seater Takes To The Air For The First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The TWZ Newsletter<\/p>\n

Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.<\/p>\n

Saab\u2019s first Gripen F two-seat fighter has taken to the air, marking the beginning of the flight-test campaign for a variant being developed in close cooperation<\/a> with Brazil.<\/p>\n

The aircraft departed Saab\u2019s airfield at Link\u00f6ping, Sweden, at 9:40 a.m. local time today and remained airborne for approximately 40 minutes. Saab chief test pilot Jakob H\u00f6gberg and Brazilian Air Force test pilot Lt. Col. Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos were in the cockpit for the inaugural sortie.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gripen F test pilots Jakob H\u00f6gberg and Lt. Col. Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos. Saab <\/p>\n

According to Saab, the flight was intended primarily to verify the aircraft\u2019s core systems and initial flying characteristics. The company says the aircraft will now enter a more extensive test program, including progressive expansion of its permitted flight envelope.<\/p>\n

That work will eventually cover the aircraft\u2019s speed, altitude, G-loading, and angle-of-attack limits, as well as the tactical capabilities and systems associated specifically with the rear cockpit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis first flight represents an important step forward for both Saab and the Brazilian Air Force,\u201d said Lars Tossman, head of Saab business area Aeronautics. \u00a0\u201cSeeing Gripen F take to the skies is particularly significant for all the Swedish and Brazilian teams whose years of engineering work have helped turn this aircraft into a reality. It is designed to accelerate pilot training while enhancing operational performance in advanced combat missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"First flight of the Gripen F, with landing gear extended. Saab <\/p>\n

The Gripen F is the two-seat derivative of the Gripen E<\/a>, but it is not simply a conventional trainer version of the single-seat fighter. Saab has designed the rear cockpit to be independently functional, allowing the aircraft to retain an operational combat role while carrying a second crew member.<\/p>\n

The configuration is therefore intended to support conversion training and mission preparation while also offering potential advantages during complex combat missions through the division of cockpit workload. This could also include as a \u2018drone controller,\u2019 a growing area of interest<\/a> for many air forces<\/a> and something that Saab is also working toward with its uncrewed aircraft plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Gripen F before its first flight. Saab <\/p>\n

Combining the Gripen F, in particular, with a high-end drone of the kind that Saab envisages, would make a good deal of sense.<\/p>\n

Saab has already pitched its stealthy, supersonic Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) \u2018fighter drone\u2019 as an adjunct for the single-seater, describing it as \u201ca great asset to the Gripen E.\u201d Saab envisages the Gripen E serving as a tactical mission commander for one or more ACPs, working in conjunction with the company\u2019s\u00a0GlobalEye<\/a>\u00a0airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.<\/p>\n

\"SaabThe Saab A3 concept for its future Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) \u2018fighter drone.\u2019 Thomas Newdick Thomas Newdick<\/p>\n

The dual-crew benefits of the Gripen F, combined with the ACP, could give Saab an even more compelling route into the CCA market. After all, a fourth-generation fighter like the Gripen (Saab, it should be noted, rigorously avoids using this generational terminology<\/a>), can remain highly relevant when teamed with CCAs, and a high-performance, stealthy drone like the ACP could make that combination even more potent. It could, at least possibly in some cases, allow air forces to skip the sixth-generation crewed combat air platforms altogether, or at least greatly reduce the need for them.<\/p>\n

Brazil is central to the Gripen F program. The country was the launch customer for the two-seat variant and participated directly in its development as part of the broader technology-transfer arrangement underpinning its Gripen acquisition.<\/p>\n

The first Gripen F was formally rolled out at Saab\u2019s Link\u00f6ping facility in June. Brazil\u2019s original 2014 agreement with Saab covers 36 aircraft, in the form of 28 single-seat Gripen E fighters and eight Gripen F two-seaters. Deliveries of Brazilian Gripens began in 2020.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rollout of the Gripen F. Saab <\/p>\n

The F-model has also attracted interest beyond Brazil. Saab has subsequently received Gripen F orders from Thailand<\/a> and Colombia<\/a>. The South American nation will get two Gripen Fs, while the breakdown of Thailand\u2019s Gripen E\/F order has not been revealed. According to Saab, the 16 new-build Gripens ordered for Ukraine<\/a> will all be single-seaters.<\/p>\n

As for the Swedish Air Force, it plans to buy 60 single-seat Gripen Es, but bearing in mind the changing security situation in Europe, and the increasing focus on uncrewed aircraft, a future Gripen F order should not be ruled out. In particular, Saab has said it expects the Swedish government to acquire new Gripen E\/Fs to backfill the 12 earlier Gripen C\/D variants it has donated to Kyiv<\/a>, and which are expected to arrive in Ukraine early next year.<\/p>\n

Ukraine intends to purchase 20 Gripen E\/F aircraft. In conjunction with the sale, Sweden will donate up to 16 Gripen C\/D, including advanced ammunition. To replace the donated aircraft, new modern Gripen E\/F will be procured for the Swedish Air Force. https:\/\/t.co\/kPHjVDXnSb<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/IxEhsy2yvN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 F\u00f6rsvarsdepartementet (@ForsvarsdepSv) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Saab also remains upbeat about the prospect of a Canadian order<\/a> for the Gripen E\/F.<\/p>\n

Sweden has made a strong push to sell Gripen to Ottawa, and Saab\u00a0offered to build the jet in Canada<\/a>, in an effort to secure support for its previous bid, which it lost to Lockheed Martin and the F-35<\/a>. Since then, Saab has also emerged as the\u00a0preferred candidate<\/a>\u00a0to supply Canada with its future AEW&C capabilities via its\u00a0GlobalEye<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Days after trade talks between Ottawa and Washington collapsed<\/a> this month, further straining the Canada-United States relationship, Saab chief executive Micael Johansson told TWZ and other journalists that Gripen would be the \u201cperfect\u201d option if Canada moves ahead with a joint fighter purchase. The Swedish jet would add \u201ccombat mass\u201d alongside the F-35, according to Johansson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Canada will give up the F-35 completely; they will go forward with that to some extent,\u201d Johansson said.<\/p>\n

Johansson also pointed to the Gripen\u2019s ability to operate from highway strips as well as conventional runways: \u201cYou get to use all kinds of airstrips that you cannot use with the F-35,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Gripen<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tGripen practicing landing and take off from a road base\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Part of the Saab pitch to Canada is the establishment of a new domestic final assembly line for the Gripen E\/F, which would be the third such facility after Sweden and Brazil.<\/p>\n

As for the Brazilian connection<\/a>, this extends well beyond aircraft procurement. Saab says more than 350 Brazilian engineers, technicians, and pilots have participated in activities covering Gripen development, production<\/a>, flight testing, and maintenance. Brazilian industry, including Embraer, has consequently become deeply involved in the program.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Brazilian Air Force Gripen E. Saab <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Saab is continuing to expand what the fighter can actually do once it leaves the factory.<\/p>\n

Recent work has included a test launch of the Taurus KEPD 350<\/a> cruise missile, as well as last year\u2019s integration of Helsing\u2019s Centaur AI<\/a> agent, which was tested in a beyond-visual-range combat scenario.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea TAURUS LAUNCH
Today a TAURUS KEPD 350 cruise missile was launched from a Swedish JAS 39 Gripen for the first time. The test was conducted at the Vidsel Test Range in Norrbotten.
Today TAURUS is a long-range cruise missile that introduces a new deep-strike capability.
\ud83d\udcf7 FMV pic.twitter.com\/vYcL75Lu4p<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Flygvapnet (@flygvapnet) August 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking last week, Johan Segertoft, head of Saab\u2019s Gripen business unit, points to the fighter\u2019s digital architecture as a key enabler of the rapid integration of new capabilities. The company says the Centaur integration took just 10 weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe chose BVR because it\u2019s one of the most complex things to prove that we could take third-party software and do it, but there\u2019s a lot of things in an aircraft and outside an aircraft that benefit from the advancement of software,\u201d Segertoft said.<\/p>\n

Since the Gripen E first flew in 2017, Saab has implemented around 300 capability upgrades, according to Segertoft. He contrasts that with what he describes as a theoretical maximum of around five upgrades for competing aircraft.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Gripen E used in the Centaur AI trials. Saab <\/p>\n

That approach is summed up by Saab\u2019s internal mantra, Segertoft says: \u201ccode in the evening, deploy in the morning, learn by lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gripen F test campaign will now move beyond basic systems checks toward progressively more demanding flight conditions. Saab\u2019s Flight Test Center in Sweden will conduct the campaign before the aircraft undergoes the remaining acceptance procedures and is eventually handed over to the Brazilian Air Force.<\/p>\n

The first flight therefore represents a milestone not only for Saab\u2019s new two-seat fighter but also for the industrial partnership that produced it. Potentially, that model could be repeated in Canada in the future.<\/p>\n

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com<\/p>\n

Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at TWZ, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond.<\/p>\n

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