Key Points and Summary: Sweden’s Saab is working on the Flygsystem 2020, a sixth-generation stealth fighter designed to replace the JAS 39 Gripen.
-Expected to incorporate AI, drone integration, and advanced radar evasion, this aircraft is shaping up to be a key asset for Sweden and NATO.
Image of Gripen E fighter from SAAB. Image Credit: SAAB.
-Saab is leveraging NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator to crowdsource cutting-edge technologies from startups and researchers across Europe.
-While the timeline for development remains uncertain, Flygsystem 2020 could become Europe’s answer to the U.S. NGAD program, strengthening NATO’s aerial capabilities against emerging threats.
-If successful, this project may set a new standard for defense innovation in Europe.
Saab Flygsytem 2020 Next-generation Fighter to Bring In ‘Accelerating” Technologies
While NATO focuses attention on its members spending more on defense – even up to 5 percent of GDP that President Donald Trump has called for, members have ordered the F-35 stealth fighter and other fifth generation airplanes.
Sweden, a new member of the alliance, is improving on one of Europe’s best fighters – the JAS 39 Gripen. Now Swedish engineers and designers are working on a sixth-generation warbird to eventually replace the Gripen and they may get new ideas from untapped resources.
This future airplane is called the Saab Flygsystem 2020, a stealthy platform that will combine extreme radar evasion with the ability to integrate artificial intelligence in the cockpit and the possible functionality to fly with tethered drones collaboratively.
The unmanned combat aircraft or “Loyal Wingmen” could improve ways to better attack the enemy or to collect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information and find the targets for munitions while conducting bomb damage assessment.
Could It Be Similar to the U.S. Air Force’s NGAD?
The Flygsystem 2020 is going through a research and development phase as workers fashion its design and capabilities.
Last March the Swedish military offered a new contract to Saab for designing the conceptual framework of the new warbird.
We know it will have sixth-generation levels of stealth, and it could be manned or unmanned much like the American Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter.
Saab Is No Pushover
If any entity can bring this airplane to fruition, Saab has developed some of the best airplanes in Europe over the decades, including the J-29 Tunnan and the 37 Viggen.
These were some of the most underrated fighters flown during the Cold War.
The Swedish company is currently working on the Flygsystem 2020, and the contract runs until January 2026.
“Saab is in a strong position, and having recently developed Gripen E and GlobalEye we have the advanced technology and engineering know-how to take the future fighter concept forward. This means we will continue delivering innovative solutions to meet the future operational needs of the Swedish Armed Forces and other customers,” Lars Tossman, head of Saab’s business area Aeronautics, said in a news release.
That is a typical vague statement, and it shows that Saab is still pondering future design parameters of the Flygsystem 2020 and its capabilities.
They are keeping it under wraps to avoid prying eyes from Russia.
New Technology from Other Countries
One thing Saab will focus on with the Flygsystem 2020 is technology cooperation with entities outside the country for new ideas. NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator will be a partner.
The accelerator is an interesting entity. There are 200 sites, laboratories, and research centers across NATO to blend the work of entrepreneurs and academics who toil to devise innovations for military projects.
The way an accelerator usually works is that Saab would put out a request for proposals for future capabilities on the Flygsystem 2020. Then, existing tech start-ups and researchers in the accelerator would write a statement about the strength of their technologies and products.
Saab JAS 39 Gripen E fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The small firms could design a solution to fit the need Saab is pondering.
The Brightest Minds in Europe Fashion Real Solutions on Flygsystem 2020
So, Saab could ask for new stealth coatings that haven’t been done before. Or they could request ideas for tethering drones or new artificial intelligence concepts to integrate into the Flygsystem 2020. Quantum computing is another area that is ripe for development.
The Defense Innovation Accelerator then creates “challenges,” and the startups and professors try to win awards for best design, efficient solutions, and cost-cutting practices. The “winners” receive contracts.
This is an intelligent way to conduct research and development, and it spawns new ideas that haven’t been tried before. Saab must be excited to put these practices in motion.
A European DARPA or Skunkworks?
This collaboration means Flygsystem 2020 could partner with countries that are not the usual teammates for producing such an advanced airplane.
The NATO Defense Innovation Accelerator could function like the American Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, or the military think tank DARPA to bring in new ideas that create defense systems out of this world.
JAS 39 Gripen. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The only downside of working with the Defense Innovation Accelerator to build the Flygsystem 2020 is time. Smaller defense firms are agile and sometimes quick to innovate, but finalizing products takes a long development period.
Plus, startups can sometimes fail. The concepts for Flygsystem 2020 need to be fashioned as quickly as possible. Sweden is now competing toe-to-toe with Russia, and the stakes are high. We will keep an eye on Flygsystem 2020 and see if Saab can get new ideas for the airplane that have never been thought of before.
Who knows, Europe may have its own DARPA or Skunkworks someday, and that would be good for all NATO members when it comes to developing cutting-edge defense technology.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
