IFC 2026: Saab's ‘AI Fighter Pilot Academy' to chart autonomous future for Gripen E and beyond

A Saab Gripen E conducting flight demonstrations of new AI agents designed to reduce pilot workload and increase operational capabilities. (Saab)

Saab has created what it terms to be an ‘AI Fighter Pilot Academy' (AIFPA) to develop and train the artificial intelligence (AI) agents to be flown by its Gripen E and other current and future combat aircraft.

The AIFPA initiative develops the agents while simultaneously building the infrastructure required to create, train, and evaluate AI agents across a wide range of scenarios and platforms. Together with the Gripen E, whose architecture is designed to enable the rapid integration and testing of new technologies, Saab controls the entire development chain in-house, from simulation to flight testing.

Speaking to Janes and other defence media to coincide with the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2026 in Munich, the Head of Advanced Programmes at Saab, Peter Nilsson, said that the Swedish company has been flying its own AI agents aboard the Gripen E over the previous months, and that the AIFPA will effectively industrialise this capability for future operational fielding.

“We have been flying our own Saab AI agents for two years now. And [the ‘AI Fighter Pilot Academy'] is the establishment of this new industrial capability – it is not another isolated experiment,” Nilsson said on 3 November 2026. “The capability builds directly on what we have demonstrated. The question is, can an AI agent be integrated and flown in Gripen E?”