Saab Gripen
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| Saab JAS-39 Gripen | ||
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| Missing image Gripen.750pix.jpg A two-seat Gripen | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Swing-role combat aircraft (Fight, Attack, Maritime attack, Reconnaissance) | |
| Crew | 1 or 2 | |
| First Flight | 9 dec 1988 | |
| Entered Service | 1996 | |
| Manufacturer | Saab-Scania | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 14.1 m | |
| Wingspan | 8.4 m | |
| Height | 4.5 m | |
| Wing area | 274,9 ft² | 25.54 m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 6620 kg | |
| Loaded | 8720 kg | |
| Maximum takeoff | 14000 kg | |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | One Volvo Aero RM12 afterburning turbofan | |
| Thrust | 54 dry, 80 kN afterburn | |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | Mach 2 at altitude | |
| Combat range (max load) | 500 miles | 800 km |
| Service ceiling | 50,000 ft | 15,000 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Thrust/weight | 6.2 N/kg | |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Armament | 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon 6 AIM-9 Sidewinder, 4 AIM-120 AMRAAM; or MICA | |
The Saab JAS-39 "Gripen" (Griffin) is a fighter aircraft from Sweden manufactured by Saab. The fighters are sold by the Gripen International corporation, a joint venture between Saab and BAE Systems.
Gripen is designed for the high demands put on flying performance, flexibility, effectiveness, survivability and availability the future air combat environment will put. The designation JAS stands for Jakt (Fighter), Attack (Attack) and Spaning (Reconnaissance) and means every Gripen can fulfill all three mission types.
Flying properties and performance are optimised for fighter missions with high demands on speed, acceleration and turning performance. The combination of delta wing and canards gives the JAS 39 Gripen very good take off and landing performance and superb flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics makes it a "programmable" aircraft. With the built in flexibility and development potential the whole JAS 39 Gripen system will retain and enhance its effectiveness and potential well into the 21st century.
Gripen affords far more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft, and its operating costs will only be about two thirds of those for Viggen, in spite of it being able to in all areas perform at least as well or slightly better, and in some cases much better. This while not being an expensive aircraft to purchase either.
The specification for the Gripen says that must be able to operate from 800 m runways, so actual take off and landing distance is significantly less, and since early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping are flown from within a 9 m x 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance is reduced by extending the relatively large airbrakes; using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down enabling the brakes to be used harder; tilting the canards forwards, making them into large airbrakes and also pushing the nose gear — which also has brakes — down.
Several layouts were studied, in the end an unstable canard layout was adopted, as it would give the greatest benefits to performance, because it gives a high onset of pitch rate and low drag enabling the aircraft to be faster, have longer range, and carry a larger useful payload.
Already in operational service with the Swedish Air Force which has ordered 204 aircraft (including 28 dual-seater), the Gripen has also been ordered by the South African Air Force (28 aircraft). Hungary and the Czech Republic have each ordered 14 Gripens.
The aircraft cost US$ 25 million in 1998.
Crashes
In all four Gripens have crashed, a by no means extreme number for this kind of aircraft. Of those crashes two occured after delivery to the Swedish Air Force. As a comparison the test series of Viggen saw seven crashes.
- In February 1989 a prototype crashed when landing in Linköping. The accident was filmed by a crew from Sveriges Television's Aktuellt. The pilot ejected safely.
- In August 1993 a Gripen crashed on the central Stockholm island of Långholmen during a flight show. The pilot, the same man as in 1989, ejected safely. No one on the ground was seriously injured.
- In September 1999 a Gripen from F7 Såtenäs crashed over lake Vänern during a dog fight exercise. It had gotten too close to the other aircraft and its tail vortex. The pilot ejected safely.
- In June 2005 a Gripen from F17 Kallinge crashed in the Hanö bay in the Baltic outside Utklippan. The pilot ejected safely and could be rescued by helicopter. The cause of the accident is still to be determined.
External links
- Saab Gripen (http://www.gripen.com/) - Official site
- Saab Gripen links (http://dmoz.org/Society/Military/Aviation/Aircraft/Fighters/JAS-39_Gripen/) - dmoz
See also
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