The Gripen F, the twin-seater variant of the Gripen E, conducted its first flight from Saab’s airfield in Linköping.
Saab has announced the successful first flight of the Gripen F, the twin-seater variant of the Gripen E fighter jet, on Aug. 28, 2026. The aircraft took off at 09:40 local time from Saab’s airfield in Linköping, Sweden, and remained airborne for 40 minutes, said the company.
The Gripen F as flown by Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg and Brazilian Air Force test pilot Lieutenant Colonel Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos. In fact, Brazil is the launch customer of this variant, which was sporting the insignias of the Brazilian Air Force, and co-developed it with Sweden.
The aircraft was officially rolled out during a ceremony on June 2. With the first flight, the pilots successfully verified the functionality of the aircraft core systems and its initial flight performance, explained the company.
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“This first flight represents an important step forward for both Saab and the Brazilian Air Force,” says Lars Tossman, head of Saab business area Aeronautics. “Seeing Gripen F take to the skies is particularly significant for all the Swedish and Brazilian teams whose years of engineering work have helped turn this aircraft into a reality.”
Following the initial production acceptance flights, the test campaign will move into a progressive envelope expansion phase, clearing each performance limit, including speed, altitude, G-load and angle of attack. In parallel, Saab says that tactical capabilities and rear cockpit functions specific to the two-seat configuration will also be evaluated.
Following the completion of the test campaign, the Gripen F will undergo acceptance procedures to be delivered to Brazil.
Gripen F
The Gripen F is the twin-seater variant of the Gripen E, Saab’s leading fighter jet. The company says it has been developed to meet the training and operational requirements of modern air forces by combining conversion training and combat capability on the same platform.
The aircraft features a fully independent second cockpit, allowing the Gripen F to be a fully operational fighter without restricting it to a training mission only. In fact, performance, sensors, and architecture mirrors the ones of the Gripen E.
The Gripen E is a significantly modernized variant of Sweden’s indigenously produced Gripen fighter jet. The jet is powered by the GE F414G engine, which provides 20% more thrust than the Gripen C’s RM12 engine, and is also equipped with a brand-new AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, IRST (Infrared Search and Track) system, and EW (Electronic Warfare) systems.
With 10 hardpoints for carrying various munitions, it is almost an entirely new platform, featuring a new avionics architecture with data-fusion capabilities, a wide-area cockpit display, and open mission systems. Externally, the aircraft is much similar to its predecessors, with the IRST in front of the cockpit and the wingtip rails being the main differentiators.
The single-seater Gripen E flew for the first time on June 15, 2017, with Sweden’s being the launch customer. On the other hand, the Gripen F only flew for the first time on Aug. 28, 2026, after Brazil became the launch customer with a contract signed in 2014.
The Brazilian Air Force has ordered 28 Gripen E and eight Gripen F, with eleven aircraft handed over since 2020. Thailand and Colombia have later included the Gripen F in their procurement contracts.
