Brazil inaugurates F-39E Gripen fighter assembly line

The first flight of a Brazilian F-39E Gripen fighter operated from Saab's airfield in Linköping, Sweden. (Saab)

Brazil's Embraer inaugurated its Saab F-39E Gripen final assembly line on 9 May in Gavião Peixoto, State of São Paulo, where it will assemble 15 of the multimission fighters for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).

The first Gripen fully assembled in Brazil will be delivered to the FAB in 2025.

The new production line will be capable of carrying out future upgrades and integrating new weapons, said Micael Johansson, president and CEO of Saab. It may also be tasked to assemble Gripens for other customers should they emerge. Gavião Peixoto also hosts a Gripen design centre and flight test facility.

Embraer was initially due to carry out the final assembly of eight single-seat F-39Es and seven twin-seat F-39Fs; however, the full production of the two-seats fully takes place in Sweden, with delivery scheduled from 2025 to 2027.

More than 60 Brazilian development projects were included in the technology transfer and work package established by the USD9.1 billion offset deal between Saab and the Brazilian government, signed in October 2014. Among other contributions, AEL Sistemas supplies the wide area display, the heads-up display, and the Targo II helmet-mounted display, while Saab Aeronáutica Montagens (SAM) produces the tail cone, aerodynamic brakes, wing box, and front and rear fuselage for Brazil's Gripens.

Seven F-39Es produced in Sweden are already in Brazil, and two more units are scheduled to arrive in the country in 2023.