The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is the bedrock upon which Sweden has built its air force. Thanks to a large delta wing, combined with canards and a relaxed stability design, the Gripen is exceptionally maneuverable.
The flexible, multi-role fighter reflects both Sweden’s defensive doctrine and the immediate threat environment and the challenge posed by Russia today and the Soviet Union not long ago. For the pacing Swedish challenge — Russia — the Gripen E provides a credible deterrent response.
JAS 39 Gripen E, the Newest Gripen
Saab, Sweden’s aerospace giant, has been behind the country’s aircraft designs since the late 1930s, and the Gripen E is the latest iteration of many decades of aircraft experience. Compared to its predecessor, the Gripen E offers pilots two additional hardpoints for additional weaponry and an upgraded, more powerful engine to offset the increase in weight. The Gripen E’s radar has also been upgraded.
The Swedish firm explains that the Gripen E can “conduct air-to-air, air-to-surface and reconnaissance missions. Air supremacy is achieved with the carriage of up to seven Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles and two Within Visual Range IRIS-T missiles. Weapons like these, combined with the ability to use offensive and defensive means simultaneously, enables Gripen E to detect, engage and suppress or destroy targets effectively.”
Sweden does not operate any aircraft carriers. Still, the company offers a marinized version of the single-engine jet, with components optimized to resist saltwater corrosion in highly corrosive sea environments. That variant’s undercarriage is strengthened as well, allowing the jet to operate from aircraft carriers.
Capabilities aside, one of the Gripen E’s great strengths is its operating environment: Sweden itself, within the country’s unique Bas 90 basing system.
Bas 90 Basing System and JAS 39E Gripen
The Bas 90 concept originated with the 1967 Six-Day War. During that brief conflict, the Israeli Air Force wiped out almost every Egyptian aircraft, in addition to dozens of aircraft from several other Arab countries. Furthermore, Israeli strikes dealt heavy blows to military airports and aircraft support equipment, destroying runways and fuel and weapon depots.
Rather than base aircraft at a few targetable air bases, the Swedes opted to disperse aircraft throughout the country at remote, austere airstrips—sometimes just roads—throughout the country.
Gripen E and most other Swedish aircraft can take off and land from highways when needed. Thanks to their delta wing design and high thrust-to-weight ratio, they can land and take off from very short runways.
But aside from the Gripen E aircraft or basing strategies, the Gripen is a key part of the Swedish defensive doctrine, which is highly reliant on conscription to fill its ranks. Under that system, young conscripts serve for short periods of time, typically one to one-and-a-half years.
Given that environment, Saab optimized the Gripen E for ease of maintenance, refueling, and rearming by unskilled conscripts. This stands in stark contrast to much more advanced jets like the F-35, which depend on entire networks of highly skilled maintainers and robust base infrastructure.
Success Abroad — But Some Limitations
The solid Swedish design is reflected in the diverse and numerous countries that have accepted the jet into service either as a fighter or trainer jet: Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
The Swedish fighter offers those countries an attractive trade-off in terms of operational flexibility, reliability, ease of maintenance, and performance—at a competitive price point. For countries unlikely to face a dedicated fifth-generation fighter threat, the Gripen has been the answer for many.
One potential shortcoming inherent to the JAS 39E Gripen’s design is its smaller size compared to other larger fighters like the F-15 or F-16 — or even the F-35. Those platforms have significantly great combat radii and can spend a longer amount of time on-station.
In Sweden’s case, specifically, that’s not necessarily blunt combat potential. Thanks to Bas 90, an unknown, but presumably large amount of fuel depots are dispersed throughout the country, partially negating the Gripen’s limited fuel capacity.
The Gripen is, however, not a stealth aircraft. Though it is indeed a refined and advanced fourth-generation design, its success against one or more stealthy aircraft is questionable. But again, in Sweden’s cast, that may not matter.
One of the main threats Sweden faces is Russia, and though Russian aerospace companies have made forays into the realm of fifth-generation aircraft, the Russian Air Force does not field a credible fifth-generation platform in significant numbers.
Though the aforementioned stealthy aircraft outclass the Gripen in terms of observability and range, the Swedish fighter’s qualities are impressive compared to similar fourth-generation fighters. When factoring in operating costs, maintenance requirements, and questions about fuel, weapons, and other logistics—as well as Sweden’s defense doctrine and immediate threat environment—the Gripen E is an attractive platform.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
