Non-Subscriber Extract
Saab heralds next-generation Gripen improvements
By Gareth Jennings
28 April 2008
Saab unveiled its next-generation (NG) JAS 39 Gripen Demonstrator (Demo) combat aircraft at a ceremony at the company's Linköping facility in Sweden on 23 April.
The Gripen NG programme involves the development of both a flight-test platform and an avionics rig and is designed to keep the JAS 39 in frontline service until at least 2040.
Improvements over the single-seat JAS 39C and two-seat JAS 39B variants currently in service or on order include a more powerful engine, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, increased fuel capacity, bolstered landing gear and increased stores capabilities as well as more advanced avionics, communications and defensive systems.
While the current JAS 39C/D aircraft is powered by the Volvo Aero Corporation RM12 derived from the General Electric F404 turbofan, the Gripen NG will be fitted with the F414G turbofan, which will provide over 20 per cent more thrust. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Saab CEO Ake Svensson said that this additional power "will [allow] more fuel and weapon stations".
According to Saab, only limited changes were needed in the aircraft's engine bay to accommodate the new F414G engine, although the air intakes were widened.
The Gripen NG AESA radar, which Saab will jointly develop with Thales, will provide several improvements over the aircraft's current Ericsson PS-05/A multimode, pulse doppler radar in the fields of improved target tracking and mode flexibility.
Image: The Gripen Demo aircraft, showing the new wing-root positioning of the landing gear (Gripen International)