The Indian Air Force is constantly busy strengthening and advancing its fleet. Meanwhile, Sweden’s fighter aircraft company Saab has made the biggest offer of its Gripen fighter jet in the world to the Indian government. Under this, a proposal was made to establish the world’s most advanced aerospace industry in India, which includes multi-stage design, production and maintenance as well as induction of fighter jet Gripen-E.

Gripen most advanced fighter jet system: SAAB

SAAB had earlier also proposed Gripen fighter jet to India with technology transfer, but the Indian Air Force expressed confidence in Rafale. Mikael Franzen, Chief Marketing Officer of Gripen and Vice President of Business Area Aeronautics at SAAB, said at the Singapore Airshow, ‘Gripen E is the most advanced and cost-effective fighter jet system available in the world. It will further enhance the strength of the Indian Air Force with the world’s best sensor fusion, networking capabilities and rapidly growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) features.

Speaking to news agency PTI, SAAB Vice President Mikael Franzen said, ‘Gripen will fit perfectly into the Indian Air Force along with Rafale and Tejas. There is a plan to not only rapidly manufacture fighter jets in Sweden and India, but along with it an ecosystem of Indian companies will also be developed. With this, a regional industrial center will also be created for exports.

Features of Gripen fighter jet

Talking about the capability of SAAB Gripen, it has been designed to operate even on the highway. Its maintenance is less. This fighter jet has a unique hardware-independent architecture, which allows rapid software updates without re-certifying flight-critical systems. Keeping in mind that India can develop software itself, Sweden has given this offer to India. India’s missiles, bombs or other weapons can be integrated into this fighter jet as per requirement without the help of the company.

Where does Gripen fighter jet stand compared to Rafale?

SAAB Gripen fighter jet cannot compete with Rafale in deep strike and carrier operations. Rafale F4 has two engines, while Gripen is a single engine fighter jet. Rafale has 14 hardpoints and 9500 kg payload capacity, whereas Gripen has only 10 hardpoints and 7200 kg payload capacity. Talking about speed, the speed of Rafale is Mach 1.8 and the speed of Gripen is Mach 2.0. Both have supercruise capability.

Amidst the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine has taken an important initiative towards hi-teching its air force. Ukraine has signed a deal with Sweden to replace old fighter planes. Under this, he will buy 150 Saab Gripen fighter jets. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this agreement on October 22 at a press conference held in Linköping, Sweden.

According to the Swedish government, the number of units supplied to Ukraine may be between 100 and 150. Christerson said the deal is a step toward a larger potential export deal related to the Gripen. Zelensky has described the acquisition of Gripen as a top priority for Ukraine’s defense strategy. He has stressed the need to replace old Soviet aircraft and incorporate modern Western platforms.

has been used in war

According to Swedish media, the Gripen was used in direct combat for the first time this year, when Thailand deployed the fighter planes in the conflict with Cambodia. Earlier, the Gripen has been used mainly for air policing and was deployed in Poland as part of the NATO mission to patrol the airspace of allied countries in 2025.

Sweden’s Gripen competes with Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and F-16 and Dassault Aviation have exported Rafale and Eurofighter to South Africa, Thailand, Brazil, Czech Republic and Hungary, while Colombia has also decided to buy Gripen. This aircraft has been in service since 1996. The first aircraft of its latest version, the Gripen E, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in October. In total, more than 280 Gripens have been manufactured so far.

What is the specialty of Gripen fighter jet?

Saab Gripen E is a high-tech multirole fighter jet. It has been developed by Swedish aerospace company Saab. It is known as a fourth-generation lightweight, single-engine supersonic jet, capable of aerial combat, bombing and reconnaissance missions. The Gripen E is described as a ‘smart fighter’, providing a powerful combination of mobility, low cost, high availability and advanced sensor fusion technology required for modern warfare.

Gripen E performance

Its maximum speed is Mach 2 (about 2,400 km/h). It has 10 hardpoints (weapon and external tank emplacements), giving it the capability to carry a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. It is capable of taking off even from rough or temporary runways. It has increased fuel capacity, giving it a maximum range of around 4,000 km.

What weapons can be deployed?

It can carry a variety of advanced weapons, including Meteor Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles. IRIS-T short-range infrared guided missile. Laser-guided and other precision guided bombs. Anti-ship missiles. It is also equipped with 27mm Mauser BK-27 cannon.

read this also

Judicial inquiry into Leh violence will start from tomorrow, victims requested to record testimony