Gripen E fighter jets are the talk of the town after Swedish company Saab AB pitched them to the Indian Air Force (IAF) as an option to meet its aerial combat demands. The pitch made by the European defence major to New Delhi reportedly includes the creation of the world’s most advanced aerospace industry in the country, comprising multi-layered design, production, and maintenance, as well as the induction of the Gripen E.
“There is a blueprint not only to build aircraft, initially out of Sweden and then in India at a rapid pace, but also to build an Indian ecosystem of Indian companies in parallel. This will also form a regional industrial hub with significant opportunities for export,” Mikael Franzen, Chief Marketing Officer, Gripen, and Vice President of Business Area Aeronautics, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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This approach will empower the IAF to incorporate customised national software and AI into the highly agile platforms at the core of Gripen avionics, which can be rapidly scaled up as greater processing power and AI evolve, said Franzen.
“To sum up, what is different in the Saab offer is an aircraft that will not only fly far into the future; the ‘Make in India’ initiative will create a backbone of future aircraft, bringing capability which is currently well outside the envelope of any fighter aircraft,” he told the news agency.
Here are five things to know about the Gripen E fighter jets that would thrill military and aviation enthusiasts:
1. Specs: The Gripen E has an overall length of 15.2 metres, a wingspan of 8.6 metres, and a maximum take-off weight of 16,500 kilograms.
2. Agility and radar: It has a quick turnaround time, taking ten minutes for air-to-air missions and 20 minutes for air-to-ground missions. The fighter features a Selex ES-05 Raven active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which is mounted on a swashplate and offers a field of view.
3. Speed: The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2 (equal to twice the speed of sound) at high altitude and 1,400 km/h at low altitude.
4. Armament and electronics: The Gripen E is armed with a 27mm Mauser BK27 high-velocity cannon. It has an integrated electronic warfare system for offensive and defensive measures, including real-time signal analysis and countermeasures.
5. Weapon systems: Its air-to-surface weapon capabilities include unguided bombs (Mk82, Mk83, Mk84), laser-guided bombs (GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-10), and advanced bombs (GBU-49, GBU-39), as well as missiles like the RBS15F ER and AGM-65 Maverick. It can be armed with a variety of air-to-air missiles, including the IRIS-T, Meteor, AIM-120 AMRAAM, and A-Darter.
