The Gripen FAB 4101 and FAB 4102 fighters were presented today (22) at the Santa Cruz Air Base, in the west of Rio de Janeiro, with the presence of President Jair Bolsonaro. The first two Gripen E planes, of the 36 contracted by Brazil, received their operational baptism, marking the beginning of the integration of the aircraft into the Brazilian Fighter Aviation.
The presentation was part of the military ceremony for the Day of Hunting Aviation, which also marked the imposition of the Medal of Operational Merit Brigadier Nero Moura and was presented by the Air Force Commander, Air Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, of the pilot award. more efficient to those who distinguished themselves in the fighter squadrons.
The two planes, developed by the Swedish defense and security company Saab, arrived in Brazil on April 1, and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) expects another four aircraft to be delivered by the end of this year. According to the contract, in 2027 all 36 planes will be in Brazil. As the agreement is also for technology transfer, part of the purchased fighter jets will be manufactured at Embraer’s plant in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo.
Incorporation of F-39 Gripen aircraft, recently arrived in Brazil, to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), at Santa Cruz Air Base – Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
Now, the fighters will go through the military certification process to receive the initial operating license in the country. The tests will be carried out by FAB, Embraer and Saab test pilots, at the Flight Test Center in Gavião Peixoto. According to the test pilot, Major Abdon Rezende de Vasconcelos, from the FAB’s Research and Flight Testing Institute, which is one of three qualified to operate the fighter so far, the planes should come into operation in the second half of the year.
For the pilot, who has been in the fighter project since 2018, the acquisition of the aircraft represents a technological leap for the Air Force in Brazil, which will result in the sovereignty of the country’s airspace. “It is a multi-mission aircraft, it performs air and ground reconnaissance missions with more modern equipment than we have and also new sensors are being incorporated”, he explained.
“This allows the pilot to have greater situational awareness in combat and, with that, he is able to use his weapons more efficiently. In the end, what we are looking for with this aircraft is efficiency,” he said, adding that initially the aircraft will go to the Anápolis Air Base, in Goiás, for the Jaguar Squadron.
Test pilot Major Abdon Rezende gives an interview at the military ceremony alluding to the Day of Fighter Aviation – Tânia Rêgo/Agência Brasil
In the view of the commander of the Brazilian Air Force, the high technological level of the aircraft will place Brazil again at the forefront of aerospace defense on the world stage. The brigadier said that a change in the contract authorized by the president will allow the acquisition of four more aircraft.
“It will allow us to start studies for the implementation of these vectors in yet another air base to be decided in due course by the Air Force’s high command. In parallel, we will start preliminary studies for the acquisition of a second batch of these aircraft in order to ensure that the deactivation of the older fighter aircraft does not result in the loss of the ability to fulfill our homeland defense mission”, he said.
After the ceremony, President Jair Bolsonaro visited two towers installed at the Santa Cruz Base and accompanied military demonstrations of planes launching artifacts at targets.
listen on National Radio Agency:
