Sweden has initiated negotiations with its German counterpart to integrate the Taurus KEPD-350 on the Gripen, and ordered time-critical activities integration studies with Saab.
Sweden will acquire the German-made Taurus KEPD-350 ALCM (Air-Launched Cruise Missile) to be integrated on its Saab JAS39 Gripen C/D jets, according to the latest document from the Swedish military materiel agency, the FMV. Sweden also plans to gradually retire 45 JAS39 Gripen C/Ds from a fleet of 105 airframes currently in service, which will be replaced with newly built Gripen E/F variants, as well as 60 upgraded Gripen C/Ds.
“The timing of this process will be determined by depending upon the availability and operational capability of the JAS39 E/F fighters,” mentioned the documents. This has an overlap with the plan to send the Gripen jets to Ukraine. As for the KEPD-350, Saab was one of the development partners in the German-Swedish weapon, the other being MBDA.
The missile has been developed to be employed by the Gripen, but Sweden did not acquire the system till date. “Saab says the KEPD-350 can destroy dense, hardened and deep targets, big and small,” mentioned the report.
🇸🇪 KEPD-350 integration ordered for JAS 39C #Gripen
🇩🇪 Long range attack weapon planned for operational use on JAS 39C in 2028 with version MS 20 Block 4.
Integration ordered in 2024. To #Gripen E in version MS23.
Armed Forces: https://t.co/93qGEI4VrK pic.twitter.com/MGNvijOHMT
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) February 22, 2025
Taurus KEPD-350 for Gripen
The Taurus KEPD-350 has been described as a “new long-range attack system” with an “initial capability” and an “integration planned at a later date for the JAS39 Gripen E.” Stockholm’s defense materiel agency, FMV, has now “initiated negotiations with its German counterpart and ordered time-critical activities integration studies with Saab.” While IOC (Initial Operational Capability) of the weapon on the JAS39 C is expected by 2028, the integration on the Gripen E will follow later.
The Gripen has flown with the KEPD-350 before, based on at least one image that Saab released and displayed as a part of the fighter’s payload in airshows. The nature of the “integration activities” therefore remains to be seen. It is not known therefore whether the KEPD-350 has been live-fired from the Gripen.
Being a NATO ally, Sweden might also consider other systems like the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile), acquired by other member nations like Poland.
With a range of 500 km at terrain hugging altitudes of only 35 meters, the Taurus KEPD 350 reaches Mach 0.95 at 1,170 km/h. Its 481 kg, dual-staege MEPHISTO (Multi-Effect Penetrator High-Sophisticated and Target Optimized) warhead delivers primary and secondary charges for plowing through heavily fortified structures. It is considered a longer-ranged and heavier-hitting ALCM, in the same class as the British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG.
#Gripen E 39-9 with Taurus KEPD 350 cruise #missile, Saab Electronic Attack Jammer Pod (EAJP) and Diehl IRIS-T A2A missile. Photo: Saab AB #avgeek pic.twitter.com/7L5WHYiCAe
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) April 15, 2020
While the latter missile has been used extensively by Ukraine from its swing-wing Soviet-origin Su-24 Fencer on Russian targets with some successful strikes, Kyiv had also sought the KEPD 350 at one point. However, with the decision by the German government to not provide it so far. The missile’s use in the European theater is nevertheless important, especially after Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Small, nimble and highly capable JAS39 Gripen-Es taking off from the several small roads and highways, as part of ACE (Agile Combat Employment) operations, and flying between valleys and gorges in the northern Scandinavian region, where Russia has blindspots, could pose as both as decoys and launching platforms for the KEPD 350 on heavily fortified ground targets.
The KEPD 350’s utility was seen in the ROKAF’s (Republic of Korea Air Force) acquisition of the ALCM, that first deployed it in 2016 for its F-15K Slam Eagles. In 2017, the service used it in a live-fire drill, although no more exercises with the KEPD 350 were reported until Oct. 2024, when it was used again for the first time in seven years.
Upgrading Gripen C/Ds
The FMV said that upgrading 60 of its older Gripen C/Ds is an “obsolescence management” project. Jets upgraded to the MS20 Block 3 configuration are planned to begin deliveries in 2026, and the MS20 Block 4 will follow in 2028. “Modifications of existing JAS39 C/D aircraft have been initiated in 2024 and are expected to continue until 2027,” mentioned the FMV report.
The modification of these 60 Gripen C/Ds and their delivery between 2025 and 2035 will “maintain freedom of action and ensure flight time production for the training task.” The timeline also allows to keep the plan to eventually phase out 45 Gripen C/Ds, as the timing can be decided “depending on the availability and operational capability of the JAS39 E system.”
Overlap with plan to donate Gripens to Ukraine
The Swedish government, in its Sep. 9, 2024 military aid package for Ukraine, had allocated $443 million for acquiring Gripen spare parts, ahead of a possible transfer of Gripen C/D fighters to Kyiv. “By acquiring new materiel parts, a number of JAS 39C/D will be saved from being dismantled and can – if the Swedish government decides so – be considered for a possible future donation to Ukraine,” the Swedish defense ministry said at the time.
The Swedish Ministry of Defense’s plans to upgrade its JAS39 Gripen C/Ds to Gripen Es had also undergone several changes, since the project was first initiated in 2013. While deliveries of freshly manufactured Gripen Es to the Flygvapnet and the Força Aérea Brasileira had already begun by 2020, in 2017 and 2018 Sweden contracted Saab for kits to upgrade 20 Gripen C/Ds.
“The program for the development and acquisition of JAS39 E has been adjusted during the years 2020-2024 and the Swedish Air Force is preparing the freedom of action for Ukraine during 2024 and 2025,” added the report.
🇸🇪 Gripen photo courtesy by Saab pic.twitter.com/O0uc0R5ubn
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) February 7, 2025
In other words, while it has been decided to retire 45 Gripen C/Ds, the speed of the retirement and additional orders for the Gripen Es will depend on the political outcome of the talks between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine. International orders for the Gripen will also have an impact.
For instance, a 2018 contract update for the Gripen E had a “revised schedule” that was decided by “balancing of requirements and harmonization of requirements with foreign customers.” The report further added that “the Swedish Armed Forces’ objectives were revised based on these new conditions.”
I’m a bit suspicious of people who so aggressively attack the qualities of #Gripen E (vs. F-35).
Literally attacking the merits of American, British and Swedish engineers. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇸🇪
If the argument is “not stealthy” then: 1. There are more than one way to operate. 2. All secrets. pic.twitter.com/tr0hbAdfHE
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) February 5, 2025
Gripen E development
The adjustment of the development and acquisition of the JAS39 Gripen E mentioned above “better suits the needs of the Air Force” which prefers a “higher maturity level” in the Gripen E and a “lower delivery rate.” The development of the MS21 and MS22 blocks also continues, and the Flygvapnet plans to start operating MS21s at Såtenäs by late-2025, “albeit to a limited extent.”
