The Hungarian Air Force will expand its current fleet of Saab Gripen C/D fighters to 18 aircraft.
To this end, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the Hungarian government signed a contractual amendment that provides for the delivery of four more fighters.
Saab, however, has not yet clarified how many of these planes will be one or two seats. The Hungarian Air Force has operated 12 Gripen C and two Gripen D (two-seater) jets since 2007 on a leasing basis.
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“With the Gripen fighter, Hungary has one of Europe’s most capable air forces. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with the Hungarian Government and defense industry,” says Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab.
According to the manufacturer, there is a signed support contract that provides for additional updates to the Hungarian fleet until at least 2035.
Gripen upgraded
The Hungarian Gripen were passed on by Sweden as replacements for the MiG-29s then used by the air force. The aircraft were of the A/B standard, but underwent upgrades to become Gripens C/D.
In 2022, Saab performed the MS20 Block 2 upgrade, which included improvements to the PS-05/A Mk 4 radar, enhancement of Link16 (NATO data link) voice communication and the latest NATO Identification Mode 5 of Friend or Foe (IFF).
The new standard allows Hungary to deploy a wide range of more modern weaponry that includes the IRIS-T within visual range infrared (WVR) air-to-air missile, the GBU-49 laser-guided bomb and the long-range Meteor missile, guided by radar.
