Brazil inducts first Gripen fighters and announces new jets

The Brazilian Air Force inducted the first two serial production F-39E Gripen jets into service on 22 April. (Sgt Müller Marin/FAB)

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) formally commissioned the first two serial production Saab F-39E Gripen jets for its fighter programme on 22 April.

The two aircraft, with tail numbers FAB4101 and FAB4102, arrived in the country on 1 April 2021.

In addition, four Gripen jets will be added to the original contract, FAB's Commander Lieutenant-Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior announced during the event, which took place at the Santa Cruz Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro. He did not elaborate further.

Lt-Brig Baptista Júnior also announced the launch of preliminary studies to acquire a second batch of Gripen aircraft.

The two serial production jets will remain at the Gripen Flight Test Centre (GFTC) at Gavião Peixoto, in the State of São Paulo, until the aircraft obtain the military type certificate from the FAB's Industrial Fostering and Coordination Institute (IFI) and the Swedish Military Aviation Safety Inspectorate (FLYGI). They will then be transferred to Jaguar Squadron, based at the Anápolis Air Base, State of Goiás.

Two additional serial production F-39Es will be shipped to Brazil this year, Saab told Janes .

The first F-39E jet in Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) configuration arrived in Brazil in September 2020 for flight and ground tests.

Brazil acquired 28 F-39E single seaters and eight F-39F twin seaters on 24 October 2014 for SEK38.9 billion (USD4.02 billion) to meet the F-X2 requirement.