The first of 15 Gripen Es to be built at Embraer’s facility in São Paulo, the aircraft is also the first Gripen produced outside Sweden.
The first JAS 39 Gripen E – or F-39E, as designated by the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira – FAB) – built in Brazil by Embraer, flew for the first time on Oct. 6, 2026. The aircraft, which is also the first Gripen produced outside Sweden, took off from Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto facility, in São Paulo, also home to the Gripen Flight Test Center.
This Gripen was also unveiled officially in a presentation ceremony on Mar. 25, which was attended by President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Piloted by Saab’s chief test pilot Jakob Högberg, tail 4109 took off from Gavião Peixoto at 10:21 am Local Time on its maiden sortie.
The flight was used to verify “the aircraft’s basic system functions and assess its initial performance,” Saab said in a separate statement. This development comes after the first Gripen F, the twin-seat version of the Gripen E, flew for the first time on Aug. 28, 2026. Högberg also flew that aircraft alongside FAB test pilot Lt. Col. Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos, since Brazil is the launch customer for the variant.
Brazil’s 2014 $4.5 billion Gripen deal for 36 aircraft included 28 F-39Es and eight twin-seater F-39Fs. Fifteen of the jets are to be manufactured at Gavião Peixoto, with 4109 being the first one.
NOTÍCIA | Primeiro Gripen E produzido no Brasil pela Embraer realiza voo inaugural. Leia notícia completa: https://t.co/nTEB9FhBtn https://t.co/Gifn5wyVmq
— Embraer (@embraer) October 7, 2026
Brazil’s status as the Gripen’s first overseas customer and its status as local manufacturing location has also led to other milestones. These include the first live-fire test of the Meteor Beyond Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) from a Brazilian Gripen conducted in Brazil, and the fighter being cleared to refuel from the Embraer KC-390 Millenium Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft.
First Brazilian-made Gripen E flies
Saab described the Embraer-made F-39E’s first flight in Brazil as a “production acceptance flight test,” following which the aircraft will be certified and delivered to the FAB. The airframe will be transferred to Anápolis Air Force Base, in Goiás State, to be assigned to the First Air Defence Group (1º GDA), currently operating ten Gripen fighters.
This test flight will now give way to “the final phase of the manufacturing process at Embraer,” said the company. Embraer also added that the “crucial data” from the “performance of the aircraft’s main systems [and] flight characteristics” will inform the rest of the production acceptance flight test campaign, ahead of delivery to the FAB.
Embraer flight engineers, supported by personnel from Saab, undertook the “flight planning and execution […] marking another milestone in the technology transfer plan delivered by the Gripen programme to Brazil,” Saab’s release said.
President Lula attented the ceremony. Here escorted by FAB 4101 the first series produced F-39E for #Brazil – now operative in the Brazilian Air Force.
Video: https://t.co/3iZZgIGnHg
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) March 25, 2026
Saab’s head of business area for aeronautics, Marcus Wandt, highlighted how the Gripen production in Brazil “has reached a new level of maturity.”
“I am proud of our close cooperation with Embraer in the Gripen programme, which establishes a solid foundation for Gripen’s future development in Brazil,” Wandt added.
Bolsters Brazil’s aerospace and technology sector
The President and CEO of Embraer, Bosco da Costa Junior, said: “This first flight of a Gripen E produced in Brazil by Embraer is a historic milestone for the country’s aerospace and defense industry. It confirms the success of a long-term strategy that combined the vision of the Brazilian Air Force, Saab’s technological expertise and Embraer’s engineering and industrial capabilities.”
Describing Embraer as South America’s only supersonic fighter production line, Saab said this is an integral part of its “global manufacturing and supply chain network.” Embraer said the milestone reflects the FAB’s “strategic decision to structure the program based on technology transfer, strong participation from national industry, and the development of long-term competencies.”
Costa Junior added that the strategic aircraft manufacturing program also contributes “to national sovereignty and Brazil’s competitiveness in the coming decades in highly complex global programs.”
One more photo of 🇧🇷FAB 4000 in #Sweden.
📷 Saab AB / Jörgen Ericsson. #F39 #Gripen https://t.co/K2vfk87KoH
— Gripen News (@GripenNews) October 2, 2026
The Brazilian Gripen program however has been significantly delayed according to an Oct. 1 report by Defensa. The report said the program has reached so far only one-third of the planned fleet, and only four aircraft are expected to be delivered by 2027. The draft budget law proposes $855 million for the FAB, with the Gripen constituting 70% of that allocation, translating to roughly $580 million.
