Sweden’s JAS 39 Gripen is often mentioned as a worthy airplane for air policing, dogfighting, and beyond-visual-range engagements. This hot rod can pack a punch with a robust load-out of missiles and precision-guided bombs, giving it teeth in combat that can sink into the enemy and not let go.
Canada could choose the JAS 39 Gripen as a supplement to F-35 Lightning II fighters that it has ordered from the United States, giving the Canadian air force a boost in the arm with the Gripen’s 4.5 generation capabilities.
Sweden’s JAS 39. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
JAS 39: Swing-role Capability Is a Force Multiplier
The Gripen is a swing-role aircraft that can change flight missions. Say the airplane is patrolling to protect the homeland, and it needs to switch to a ground strike operation.
The pilot can just flip a switch and drop precision-guided bombs to help soldiers that need close air support, and then go back to air policing.
METEOR Missile Can Reach Out and Touch You
The JAS 39 can carry 10 weapons per flight. The best armament is arguably the METEOR beyond-visual-range missile. The METEOR has a range of 62 miles, allowing the Gripen to have a first-strike advantage against the enemy. The METEOR also touts its large “No Escape Zone,” which means it can bring doom to adversarial airplanes before they know what it is happening.
The METEOR also has a ramjet-throttled propulsion system that gives it the speed to knock out a bogey from long range to make enemy aviators pay the price. This missile features “a jamming-resistant active radar seeker and proximity fuse,” according to Saab’s corporate website. Adversaries do not have a chance as the METEOR can lock on to a target and resist countermeasures. It also has a unique two-way data link that gives pilot feedback while in flight.
IRIS-T for Closer-in Engagements
The JAS 39 can fire the IRIS-T, a shorter-range range of missiles for close-in engagements. The IRIS-T has a solid propellant motor that enables the missile to travel at MACH 3 speeds. The IRIS-T has a range of 15 miles. The missile tracks and maintains lock quickly and can even eliminate targets that fly behind the Gripen. It has a wide-angle infrared seeker that ensures a quick hit and can make an enemy fighter crash and burn.
TAURUS KEPD 350 Makes Them Pay on the Ground
That’s not all. Remember that hypothetical ground strike mission I described above that mentioned a close air support operation? The JAS 39 has an adept air-to-surface missile that can wreak havoc on the enemy, fighting against friendly soldiers. The TAURUS KEPD 350 is a long-range ground strike missile that the doctor ordered for the Gripen to support combatants successfully or to take out enemy radar, sensors, surface-to-air missiles, or command and control facilities.
The TAURUS KEPD can damage runways and destroy enemy airplanes stored outside hangars.
JAS 39. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The TAURUS KEPD has a powerful warhead and engages multiple targets quickly as it flies low and fast to avoid enemy air defenses. This gives friendly combatants peace of mind when engaging close-in adversarial soldiers on the ground. The TAURUS KEPD also allows battle planners an easy decision to make when making a “bloody nose” aerial attack for multiple targets against an enemy that needs to be suddenly punished.
Bombs Away with Robust Ground Strikes
The Mk 80-series, Paveways and Enhanced Paveways, are guided bombs that can destroy multiple targets as well. Pilots who choose the Paveways are not disappointed when flying at the pointy tip of the spear. The Gripen can also drop the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb or the Spice series munition. This is for difficult engagements when the pilot desperately needs a win on the ground. It is difficult for the enemy to escape these munitions.
Close-in Gun for the Up-Close and Personal Fight
For self-defense, the JAS 39 Gripen also has a close-in gun called the Mauser BK-27. This is a 27-millimeter weapon for taking on targets within visual range. A good pilot can switch to the gun for dogfighting when things get hairy in aerial combat.
F-35 vs. JAS 39?
The Canadians cannot go wrong with the JAS 39 Gripen. The 4.5 generation warbird can be armed to the teeth. It is not fully stealthy like the F-35, but it can make the enemy pay dearly with all the different munitions it can carry. What will Prime Minister Mark Carney and his generals choose?
My money is still on the F-35 for its full radar-evasion capabilities. But if Canada goes for the JAS 39, the multi-role fighter can do it all. This means destroying enemy aircraft at beyond-visual-range or taking out targets on the ground.
The Canadians could go for a combination of the F-35 and JAS 39, and that may make training pilots on the different airplanes a longer and more difficult process. But give the Canadian aviators the benefit of the doubt when it comes to learning the ropes. They should be able to adjust to both the F-35 and JAS 39 if the air force chooses both fighters.
If the F-35 order of 88 jets from Lockheed Martin is completely cancelled, the Canadians could choose their new fleet of jets to be JAS 39s to replace the older CF-18 Hornets that need to be retired. Let’s see what the choice is and whether the Great White North goes with the JAS 39. If the air force wants an all-Gripen fleet, the weapons load-out will be one of the best in the business.
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.
