Saab Ramps Up Gripen E Flight Testing For First Deliveries
22 May 2019 Tony Osborne
"LINKOPING, Sweden—Saab plans to have eight of its new-generation Gripen E combat aircraft flying by the end of this year as it ramps up flight testing. The company already has two JAS 39Es flying from its Linkoping base, 39-8 and 39-9, with company officials revealing that the third aircraft, 39-10, could fly in the next couple of weeks.
Serial production of the aircraft already is underway, with four aircraft currently undergoing final assembly, including the first aircraft destined for Brazil.
Several of these will be production-standard aircraft but equipped with flight test instrumentation. The second aircraft is also now flying with its extensive sensor suite, including the electronic warfare suite, the Leonardo-developed Raven active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and infrared search and track….
...“We are getting more out of each individual flight test hour, which we didn’t anticipate,” said Eddy de La Motte, the head of the Gripen E program at Saab.... ['what exactly' - is it good/bad info - more problems to solve? crikey sport]
...Saab currently has orders for 60 Gripens from Sweden and 36 aircraft for Brazil including eight two-seat versions, development of which is taking place in Brazil with a joint Swedish/Brazilian team....
...Development of the two-seat Gripen F is proceeding apace. The addition of a second cockpit requires the lengthening of the fuselage by 65 cm and adjustments to the electrical system to cope with the additional avionics and oxygen system. The design of the ducting from the air intake to the engine also is being redesigned and the fuselage strengthened, to deal with increased bending moments.
“We are trying to keep everything as similar as possible. All the systems are the same. All the displays are the same. Minor changes will also be needed to the flight control system,” de La Motte [head of the Gripen E program at Saab] said.
The two-seat version is designed to be fully operational, with the two cockpits independent from each other to enable the rear-seater to operate the EW system. De La Motte says he does not expect any significant impact on the two-seat model’s performance. First flight of a two-seat Gripen is expected in 2022."