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2018-08-01

Gripen-E:Boasting Undeniable Edge

Saab’s Gripen E’s test aircraft is taking advantage of the unrivalled flexibility of the aircraft’s design and the next two Gripen E aircraft for the flight test programme are benefiting from key design decisions.

Explaining the progress being made on the test aircraft, Jonas Hjelm, senior vice president and head of Saab business area Aeronautics, said at the recent 2018 Farnborough International Airshow: “Today’s threats are not tomorrow’s and modern fighters could be viewed as a network of flying supercomputers seeking to outperform their opponents.

“So we designed Gripen’s smart architecture to ensure that we can introduce the latest powerful computers and other hardware swiftly and simply which is unmatched in this industry. We have the double advantage of being both the newest aircraft and able to effortlessly leap ahead as processing power advances. The pilot flying Gripen E will therefore have an undeniable edge.”

The two aircraft (known as 39-9 and 39-10) benefited by having new and upgraded computers rapidly added to them, further improving the capabilities from the first aircraft, 39-8. A critical factor was that this could be done without affecting the flight critical systems and so was completed in days and weeks, rather than in months and years as is typical in fighters. It means Gripen E can be at the forefront of air combat for decades as new features or technologies demand every greater processing power.

The flight included several test manoeuvres at supersonic speed. This paves the way for future trials involving carriage and release of missiles, drop tanks and other external stores.

International Programme
Gripen E is an international programme and there has been progress with the design of Gripen F, the two seat version. This is being designed with Embraer in Brazil and can be used for training, Combat Readiness training, Combat Missions and Electronic Warfare Officer, Mission Commander and Weapon System Officer in the rear seat. Additional highlights have been further deliveries around key hardware such as the Wide Area Display being led by the Brazilian company AEL Aeker. Gripen E is being developed for the Swedish Air Force whilst the Brazilian Air Force will receive both Gripen E and F.

The pylons, which were part of the external stores carried by Gripen aircraft with designation 39-8 in test flights were from the Swiss company RUAG Aerostructures.

Gripen E’s pylons are installations by which additional tanks for fuel, surveillance systems or guided weapons can be attached under the aircraft. Eight pylons are supplied per aircraft. These technologically sophisticated components include both electronic as well as mechanical systems and must meet the highest demands regarding aerodynamics and load capacity.

Since the first flight with the Gripen E test aircraft (39-8) last year, an intensive flight trials period has been successfully conducted. The aircraft has shown throughout the expansion of the envelope expected performance and behaviour, with high availability and reliability. Gripen has now taken another big step towards customer delivery next year by flying with external stores.

“Gripen flew as expected and we are very pleased with the flight test results. During the flight, the aircraft carried out a number of actions to verify the flying and handling qualities of the aircraft with this extended configuration”, said Hjelm.

The first flights with external stores were conducted over the Baltic Sea at the beginning of July. Besides two of the IRIS-T air-to-air missile, the aircraft carried five pylons. Dirk Prehn, CEO of RUAG Aerostructures said: “As a major supplier in the Gripen programme, responsible for the design and manufacture of the pylons and other components, we contribute to the superior performance of the fighter, in terms of safety, performance, life cycle cost and quality”.

Meanwhile, Saab has also made a new significant addition to its extensive repertoire of electronic warfare (EW) self-protection systems with a product family called Arexis. One version of Arexis is the on-board EW suite in the new version of the Gripen fighter, Gripen E/F. It will be one of the most advanced EW systems ever installed in a fighter aircraft.

Saab is expanding the Arexis product family by presenting the Arexis advanced electronic attack jammer pod. The Arexis jammer pod has the capability to screen and so protect the approach and departure of entire strike formations against low frequency radars by the smart utilisation of Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM)based jamming techniques.

Reference Text/Photo: www.saabgroup.com

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