Saab flies two-seat Gripen F for the first time

Saab has completed the first flight of the Gripen F, the two-seat version of its newest fighter jet, the company said. The flight took place on 28 August from Saab's development and production site in Linkoping, Sweden, and lasted about 40 minutes.

Saab chief test pilot Jakob Hogberg flew the aircraft alongside a test pilot from the Brazilian air force, according to the company. The flight checked the jet's core systems and initial handling.

The single-engined Gripen F is a derivative of the single-seat Gripen E. The extra seat, Saab says, is meant to speed up training for new pilots and to give a weapons systems officer a station for overseeing tasks such as airborne battle management, electronic warfare and control of unmanned aircraft.

Brazil is the launch customer for the Gripen F. It has ordered eight of the type in addition to 28 Gripen E/F-39E jets, which the Brazilian air force designates F-39E and F-39F. Saab has partnered with Embraer to assemble 15 of Brazil's 36 Gripens locally in Sao Paulo state.

The first Brazilian-built F-39E was unveiled in March, according to Saab, and Brazil already has 11 single-seat jets in service. The initial batch of those was built in Sweden. Colombia and Thailand have also placed orders for the Gripen, though details on their variants were not given in connection with this flight.

Saab said the Gripen F will now move into further airborne testing, including production acceptance flights followed by a gradual expansion of its flight envelope.