Economy

Brazil’s new fighter jet ready to fly

brazil's new fighter jet gripen

Almost five years after the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) sealed the purchase of the new generation of Swedish Gripen fighter jets, the first aircraft is ready for flight. As of August, it is expected to take off from the Saab AB airport in Linköping—some 220 kilometers from the Stockholm—beginning its phase of test flights. This is the final stage before the jets are delivered, which should occur in 2021. Until then, the aircraft will undergo an exhaustive series of examinations, putting all of its systems and components to the test.

The purchase of the Gripen E (single-seat) and F (two-seater) craft was made official on October 24, 2014, after a process which lasted over a decade. The jet was awarded the contract from the FX-2 Program, intended to modernize Brazil’s fighter jet fleet. Other competitors included Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and Dassault’s Rafale F3. The Swedish craft will immediately substitute the now obsolete Mirage F-2000 of the FAB (which have already been decommissioned) and in the medium- and long-term they will also replace the F-5M and A-1M jets.

The 36 jets (28 one-seaters and 8 two-seaters) cost SEK 39.3 billion—the equivalent of USD 4.1 billion or BRL 15.5 billion. The last aircraft will be delivered to the FAB in 2024.

“The Gripen E/F is an excellent fourth-generation fighter, it has great performance and was designed to be relatively cheap, easy to maintain, and quick enough to combat any aggressor,” said Álvaro Martins Abdalla, specialist in aircraft at the São Carlos Engineering School of the University of São Paulo (EESC-USP). The Saab plane, with similar performance to its competitors, won out thanks to two principal factors, the first being its price.

“In terms of operational costs and the total value of the transaction, the Gripen E/F was a wise choice. It is one of the cheapest fighter jets on the market, with a good radar and supersonic speeds,” highlighted Richard Abouafia, aeronautic industry analyst and vice president of the Teal Group, a North American consultancy specializing in the aerospace and defense sectors.

“However, I believe that it would have made more sense to choose the F/A-18E/F if Brazil wanted jets to work from Navy aircraft carriers, and not only to serve the Air Force.”

The second aspect which swung the balance in favor of the Swedes was the offset agreement offered by Saab—valued at USD 9 billion—including investments in industrial facilities in Brazil and the training of Brazilian engineers and pilots in Sweden. The agreement also included a technology transfer program in favor of the FAB and Brazilian companies, and promised the participation of Brazilian industry (led by Embraer) in the development of the aircraft. Unlike the other candidates, the Swedish project was not finished, and was still in progress.

“The key point in the choice of the Gripen is that is was still in development. Therefore, FAB engineers and Brazilian companies were able to take part in the project and build the craft with the Swedes, making the transfer of technology more effective,” said economist Marcos José Barbieri Ferreira, coordinator of the Laboratory of Aerospace and Defense Industry Studies of the Campinas State University (Unicamp)....

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