SAAB Gripen Story- Part 1

1930- Svenska Aeroplan Aktie Bolaget (SAAB) started operation

1940-42- Saab's first military designs entered service with the Swedish Air Force- single engine B 17/S 17 and twin-engine B 18/S 18

1948- Saab 29 Tunnan, the first original jet-powered aircraft designed by Saab, undertook its maiden flight

1953- Saab 32 Lansen became the first Saab aircraft to break the sound barrier, Sweden became the fifth country to fly a supersonic aircraft. This is a first generation design. J 35 Draken was second generation design.

Late 1950s- The decision was taken to embrace the concept of a total weapon system in which design and development of the airframe would progress in parallel with that of onboard avionics and equipment, armament, the powerplant, and ground-based support equipment including simulators for pilot training.

1967- The Saab 37, later known as Viggen, took its first flight.

1971- Viggen entered Swedish Air Force service. First-generation Viggens comprised four variants, each with a primary and secondary operational role: the AJ 37 (attack, air defence), SF 37 (photoreconnaissance, attack), SH 37 (maritime reconnaissance, anti-shipping strike) and the two-seater SK 37 (training, attack). A total of 337 Viggens were built till 1990.

1979- the Swedish government issued additional instructions to find an aircraft with a combined Jakt, Attack and Spanning (JAS: Fighter, Attack and Reconnaissance) capability of a level equivalent to the American General Dynamics F-16. That aircraft would replace the Swedish Air Force's AJ/SF/SH 37 Viggens. Five Swedish aerospace companies that would join forces to design, develop and manufacture a multi-role JAS combat aircraft. 

The companies were Saab (airframe design, final assembly, digital fly-bywire control system, marketing and sales); Volvo (development of the RM12 engine in cooperation with General Electric, it being a development of the GE404J); FFV (maintenance and the ODEN Helmet Mounted Sight); SRA (diffractive optics HUD and three head down displays) and LM Ericsson (radar, FLlR, central computer system and IFF system). The decision was of political in nature  This decision was of political nature to show that not only Saab but a broader Swedish industry base would profit from the development of the new fighter. One major change was that all of the other companies now became risk-taking partners, which had not been the case with previous Swedish fighter programmes; however, marketing of the complete aircraft would stay with Saab.

1980- Official Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to the US companies General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, and to IG-JAS in Sweden. Partners were to be selected by end of 1981 so that IG-JAS could submit an offer to the Swedish Air Force. The Swedish government would then decide whether to develop an indigenous fighter or buy from overseas.

Many prototypes were tested at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. Tunnel testing was undertaken in Sweden and in the best tunnels available in Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

The idea of joining an international programme to develop a fighter, though attractive financially in that the costs could be shared between the partner nations, was rejected because of the inevitable compromises inherent in the design and operational capabilities of a multi-nation aircraft. There also remained the unanswered question of whether or not such a programme could produce an aircraft able to meet the Swedish Air Force's operational requirements and thus replace the surviving Drakens and Viggens in service.

On 1st December 1981, the Swedish government voted in favour of the IG-JAS proposal and therefore gave the FMV an order to negotiate a contract with IG-JAS for a Draken/ Viggen replacement. The decision was made easier by reasons of employment, the nation's industrial technical base and, last but not least, Sweden's policy of neutrality. Foreign aircrafts like F-16, F-18 were tested and found unsuitable for Swedish requirements.

Keeping programme costs (and therefore unit price) down was a bigger problem for Saab than for other, larger aircraft manufacturers, for instance Dassault, General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas, because Sweden's policy of neutrality and strict weapons export laws meant that the company did not have as broad a customer base on which to rely. Although the Draken had won orders from Austria, Denmark and Finland, the more capable Viggen failed to win a single export order.

Outside Europe there was a different problem in that the Viggen's RM8 engine was a licence-built American design. When India. expressed an interest in possibly acquiring Viggens, the US State Department exercised its right to veto the transfer of engine technology and thus scuppered any chance of a deal.