SAAB JAS39 Gripen

The JAS-39 Gripen multipurpose aircraft is the result of the development and production of the Swedish aviation industry. Since the pre-war years, the latter has followed the path of maximum independence with an emphasis on meeting the specific needs of the domestic air force. The result of the development line of jet aircraft is the multi-purpose type JAS-39 Gripen, which follows on from the previous models Tunnan, Lansen, Draken and Viggen. All Swedish designs were in many ways unique and in some features timeless, which can also be said about the Gripen type. The JAS-39 Gripen faced the F-16 and F-35 on the market, to which it lost in most comparisons. The reason for this was not lower quality, but the political power of the United States and also economic parameters, when after the collapse of the bipolar order of the world, there were sales of F-16 aircraft from the armament of several European states, and customers often chose to purchase them instead of buying a new aircraft. The Gripen has also always been limited in terms of compatibility with other NATO assets, which was another factor in limited sales. The Swedish government's effort to support exports can be seen in the leasing of JAS-39C/D to two countries, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Gripen is thus the only combat aircraft in the world whose two-fifths (and after Brazil's accession to the project one-third) of its customers acquired it in the form of a lease. Unfortunately, even such an active approach, crowned by Sweden's offer for the recent free transfer of existing Czech aircraft in the case of ordering the new generation JAS-39E/F, did not lead to success. Despite all its modernizations, the Gripen is in its latest version a fourth-generation machine with some improved capabilities, and it loses technologically dramatically to new types of aircraft such as the F-35. Of the existing customers, the Czech Republic has already set a horizon for decommissioning the type. His further destiny is therefore connected with Sweden, Hungary, Brazil and, for a certain period, the Republic of South Africa and Thailand. However, the JAS-39 Gripen multi-purpose aircraft will forever be associated with the history of our air force thanks to its almost twenty years of service in our air force. The publication describes the aircraft from its development to the present, including its users.