Saab Unveils First Gripen F Developed With Brazil

Overview

• Saab presented the first Gripen F on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, a two-seat next‑generation fighter co‑developed with Brazil that the Brazilian Air Force will be the launch customer.
• Engineering required a 66 cm fuselage stretch to 15.9 m to fit a second, fully independent cockpit, which led Saab to remove the internal 27 mm cannon and cut fuel capacity, reducing combat radius by about 10%.
• The prototype will enter a Saab Flight Test Centre campaign in Sweden and, after validation, be shipped to the port of Navegantes for ground checks in Brazil before joining fleet operations at Anápolis.
• Saab is riding strong export momentum after 2025 sales grew to about 79 billion SEK and is scaling related products and munitions, including the drone‑targeting Nimbrix missile now in production with deliveries planned next year.
• The Brazil program remains central to Saab’s industrial strategy: Brazil will receive technology transfer, hundreds of engineers have been trained, 15 Gripen final assemblies are planned at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto plant, and the smaller run of eight F jets will be built in Sweden for cost and logistics reasons.