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2021-04-01

Supersonic Flight Tests of Gripen Kicks off in Brazil

F-39 Gripen E, the new fighter for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), recently began performing supersonic flight tests in Brazil. The aircraft, based at the Gripen Test Flight Centre (GFTC) at Embraer’s facilities in Gavião Peixoto (SP), has been carrying out the flights over the designated test areas north west of the base. All flights are following authority-defined procedures and are taking place at high altitude, above 5,000 metres.

These flights, carried out by Saab, are essential to test performance and functions of the new aircraft, in order to continue the certification and acceptance procedures of the aircraft, which arrived in Brazil in September 2020.

“Gripen will be performing supersonic flights during the next couple of months. Flying faster than the speed of sound creates a sound wave, a sonic boom, that may sound more like a thunderclap than the sound of a passing aircraft. It is possible that residents of the region will hear this sound while this important testing of Brazil´s new fighter is being done. We take care to ensure that these supersonic flights are taking place in designated test areas, in coordination with the aeronautical authorities and following the procedures of the Brazilian Air Force,” explained Sven Larsson, head of GFTC at Saab.

Flight activities in Brazil includes testing of flight and environmental control systems. It also aims to test the aircraft in the tropical climate. National features unique to the Brazilian aircraft, such as weapons integration and the Link BR2 communication system, which provides encrypted data and voice communication for the aircraft, will also be tested in Brazil.

Technology Transfer Programme

The partnership with Brazil began in 2014, with a contract for the development and production of 36 Gripen E/F aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force, including systems, support and equipment. An extensive technology transfer programme, running for a period of 10 years, is driving the development of the local aeronautical industry through partner companies participating in the Brazilian Gripen Programme.

During this period, more than 350 Brazilian technicians and engineers are participating in theoretical and practical training in Sweden to acquire the necessary knowledge to perform the same tasks in Brazil. So far, more than 230 professionals have completed the training and most of them are back in Brazil working at the Gripen Design and Development Center (GDDN), also located at Embraer, in Gavião Peixoto.

The GFTC and GDDN are part of the transfer of technology of the Gripen Programme. They are joint activities carried out by Saab and Embraer that aim to build the procedures and capability to develop and test new features during Gripen´s lifetime at FAB.

In addition to meeting the military requirements established by FAB, Gripen had the lowest lifecycle operating costs. “Gripen was sold with the commitment to transfer technology necessary for the development of the Brazilian aerospace industry. The fact that Gripen is a prototype means Brazil can be involved in the development of the project, which will give the Brazilian industry and FAB access to all levels of technology,” said Lieutenant General Juniti Saito, former Brazilian Air Force Commander.

Smart Design

Gripen’s high availability is ensured by the support friendly system design with supportability in focus and inherent from the very beginning. The result is low maintenance requirements and extensive testability in any operational or support environments.

The smart system design enables modular and flexible distribution of capabilities allowing rapid deployment of both long and short-term missions with a minimal logistic footprint. Smart thinking in every stage of Gripen’s design process targeted key cost drivers important for reliability, maintainability and testability. This is why the Gripen system offers cost efficiency in every single stage of the life cycle.

Gripen’s smart and flexible maintenance and support concept can be tailored to each customer’s specific ambitions, capabilities and requirements. True multi-role and swing role capability makes every Gripen aircraft able to solve any operational task independently. Hence, it’s up to the support concept to enable this capability. Influenced by a number of factors such as operational concept, cost effectiveness, security of supply, available facilities and individual customer’s aspirations of autonomy, Gripen’s support concept can be labelled as true multi-role support.

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