After arriving by ship in Brazil on Sunday, the two new F-39E Gripen fighters of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) took off on Wednesday afternoon towards the Flight Test Center maintained by Saab and Embraer at the Gavião Peixoto facility.
The two aircraft were brought by the ship Minervagracht to the port terminal in the city of Navegantes, in the state of Santa Catarina.
Hours later, the supersonic jets were transferred through the streets to the local airport, where they were prepared to fly by the Swedish manufacturer’s team. Among the requirements to release them for flight is the installation of the ejection seat and survival kit, in addition to fueling and preparation for ground deployment.
Despite the ability to reach Mach 1.8, Gripen registrations FAB 4103 and FAB 4104 took about 50 minutes to cover the 570 km distance between the two airports.
At Embraer, the new Gripen joined the FAB 4101 and FAB 4102 jets, which were delivered in April, and the precursor to the program, the F-39E, registration FAB 4100.
According to the FAB, “in Gavião Peixoto, FAB, Embraer and Saab test pilots perform flight tests until the aircraft are ready to receive the military certificate. The document is a kind of initial operating license. , the fighters will be transferred to Anápolis Air Base, where they go through the final stages of delivery and start of operation by the First Air Defense Group (1st GDA)”.
Neither Saab nor the FAB have revealed when a new batch of fighters will be delivered. For the aircraft to be operational, it is necessary to reach a minimum number of units delivered.
Brazil acquired an initial batch of 36 aircraft, but recently signed an amendment for four more jets. In addition, the Air Force is negotiating a second batch with another 26 Gripen.
