The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (English: Griffin) is a lightweight multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world.
Description
Gripen is the lightest of the new-generation fighters that are going into operation early this century, having been designed from the outset as a fully multifunctional since the first scratch on paper. The current fighters like the F-16 or F-18 also are multifunctional, but to fulfill a mission to attack the full potential of the aircraft, they have to put some specific modules of the avionics so that a plane ready to attack ground targets have a certain capacity for air combat, and vice versa. Gripen does not happen because all you need is there, flying with you, simply hit certain buttons to change the mission. This capability is unprecedented and certainly a great tactical advantage and trade, facilitating a better cost benefit of that aircraft on the international market. The Gripen is fitted with a Volvo motor RM-12 which actually is a version of the engine General Electric F-404 used in the F/A-18 Hornet fighters from the United States. this engine provides a thrust of 8050 kgf, being slightly more potent than the North American version of original orbital. This engine is extremely reliable and allows hard acceleration without the appearance of problems. Another great advantage of the Gripen in the international market is the ability to arm you with a huge variety of weapons from various sources. So you can team it with Mica missiles if the U.S. government veto the sale of AMRAAM for your country, or even, we can adapt it to Russian missile R-77. This capability is unique and makes it very attractive market hunts. The maneuverability of this fighter is very good too, being better than the F-16, one of its direct competitors in the market for fighters. Indeed, the delta canard type aerodynamic configuration found in Europe's new generation fighter is very efficient in the field of maneuverability and agility, leaving behind many modern fighters. Even the arms of Gripen, one can mention the powerful anti-ship missile Bofors RBS-15F, which is transported in pairs. With a range of 200 km and a warhead of 200 kg pre-fragmented, can by sheer most warships known to one impact. To fight air to air short range missile IRIS-T, which is nearing final approval, should be the main type of missile to be used by Gripen. Currently the short-range missile used is already classical, Raytheon AIM-9L Sidewinder. Internally Gripen uses a Mauser BK-27 cannon caliber 27 mm and a rate of 1700 shots / min allows efficiency against air targets and light armored. From the standpoint of avionics, the Gripen has a multi-mode radar pulse-Doppler Ericsson PS-05 / A, with a capacity look-down/shoot-down (look down and shoot down) feature that facilitates destroy targets are the Gripen flying down or even close to the ground, a situation which usually represents a fact complicating the fight. The radar can work in four different air-air modes: a) Track-while-search, track and engage multiple air targets, b) Priority-target-tracking, more accurate for targets engaged, while also tracks other targets; c) Single-target-tracking, air-air mode for use of cannon, for example d) Air-combat-mode for automatic detection of air targets in combat. Mode air-ground targets as small as a car can be traced for distances of 90 km The ability of PS-05 more than three times the capacity of Processing the radar of its predecessor, the PS-46, installed on the JAS- 37 Viggen and with only 60% of this volume. Even this is a good radar equipment, and adequate performance is under study for its replacement by a new AESA radar with electronic scanning, which will increase even more, the combat capabilities of the Gripen.
But the formidable capabilities of this plane did not end there. It has the best system for transmitting and receiving data via data link in the world. Through this system, the Gripen can operate with the radar off, just getting data from the enemy positions from the other fighters, or earth, or a plane of Airborne Early Warning AEW or AWACS. So it becomes very difficult to detect by the enemy. This system was used by the Americans who installed a similar system in the F-22 Raptor, but with many restrictions of compatibility. The data link enables the Gripen which open new possibilities tactics to attack or intercept an intruder, so with the another aircraft this is not possible without modernization. Gripen will receive an IRST sensor for passive identification and designation of long-range, allowing better use of new off boresight missiles that are entering the market today. Gripen is a fighter which if used correctly, requires a strong deterrence to potential enemies inhibiting adventures warring against his nation.
Operators
Czech Republic
- Czech Air Force has 14 Gripens on lease, including 2 two-seaters, with all in operation as of January 2010.
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Swedish Air Force
- 204 aircraft originally ordered, including 28 two-seaters (138 in service). Sweden leases 28 of the aircraft, including four two-seaters, to the Czech and Hungarian Air Forces. In 2007 the Swedish government decided that the future Swedish Air Force will deploy no more than 100 JAS 39C/D Gripen fighters. A program to upgrade 31 of the air force's JAS 39A/B fighters to JAS 39C/Ds was started. The SAF has 121 JAS 39s, including 53 JAS 39As, 10 JAS 39Bs, 45 JAS 39Cs and 13 JAS 39D in service in January 2010.
Thailand
- The Royal Thai Air Force ordered six Gripens, four biplace and two monoplace.
Specifications
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 (2 for JAS 39B/D)
- Length: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
- Height: 4,5 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)
- Empty weight: 5,700 kg (12,600 lb)
- Loaded weight: 8,500 kg (18,700 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Volvo Aero RM12 afterburning turbofan
- Dry thrust: 54 kN (12,100 lbf)
- Thrust with afterburner: 80.5 kN (18,100 lbf)
- Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
- Length (two-seater): 14.8 m (48 ft 5 in)
Performance
- Maximum speed:
- At altitude: Mach 2 (2,470 km/h, 1,372 mph)
- Combat radius: 800 km (500 mi, 432 nmi)
- Ferry range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi) with drop tanks
- Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
- Wing loading: 336 kg/m² (68.8 lb/ft²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.97
Armament
- 1× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon 120 rounds
- 6× Rb.74 (AIM-9) or Rb 98 (IRIS-T)
- 4× Rb.99 (AIM-120) or MICA
- 4× Rb.71 (Skyflash) or Meteor
- 4× Rb.75
- 2× KEPD.350
- 4× GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
- 4× rocket pods 13.5 cm rockets
- 2× Rbs.15F anti-ship missile
- 2× Bk.90 cluster bomb
- 8× Mark 82 bombs
- 1× ALQ-TLS ECM pod
See also
The original article can be found at Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the edit history here.