Previous fleet

Since the French  Mirage 2000 final retirement on Q4 2013, Brazil´s current fleet of air fighters still depends on the American Northtrop F5.  Around 50 jets are still commissioned, out of a total of 79 units aquired, as follows:

1973 – 42 new units (6 training units B (2 seats) e 36 units E (1 seat)

1988 – 26 new units (4 training units B (2 seats) e 22 units E (1 seat)

2000 – 11 used units bought from Jordan (due to American production ended in 1987).

Modernization process has been completed on October 2020

Since 2005, a modernization process of the entire F5 fleet took place, for potencially extending its life comissioning.

Embraer was responsible for fitting the ageing aircraft with new Avionic (multifunctional displays) system, Italian Grifo F multimode radars, electronic countermeasures and the capability to employ a range of modern missiles and laser-guided bombs. The overhaul will allow the aircraft to remain in service into the 2030s. ATL / ELBIS (Israel) also engaged in the so called FX project, that ended up naming the resulting air fighters as F-5EM / F-5FM.

The Brazilian Air Force has taken delivery of the final upgraded F-5M fighter from Embraer Defense in a ceremony at the company’s Gavião Peixoto plant, on October 14th  2020. The aircraft delivery on October 14th  marked the completion of a 15-year program that saw the company overhaul a total of 49 remaining Northrop Grumman-built light fighters operational units. See a picture of the resulting fighter below:

The GRIPEN era

The Brazilian Gripen Programme began in 2013 when SAAB successfully bid for the F-X2 Programme to replace the jet fighter fleet operated by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). In October 2014 a contract was signed with the Brazilian government for the development and production of 36 aircraft.

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has achieved a major milestone in the ambitious and complex effort to modernise its air combat capability with the formal receipt of an initial four series-production Saab F-39E Gripen multimission fighters.

The jets were accepted by FAB Commander Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior at the Saab Aeronautics plant in Linköping, Sweden, on 24 November, 2021. The aircraft were subsequently shipped to Brazil for the FAB’s Jaguar Squadron, located at the Anápolis base of Wing 2 in the State of Goiás.

The FAB’s Procurement and Acquisition Center (COPAC) purchased a package of 36 Gripen NG aircraft (28 single-seat F-39Es and eight dual-seat F-39Fs) as well as two flight simulators on 24 October 2014 for SEK38.9 billion (USD4.25 billion) to meet the FAB’s F-X2 requirement.

The four series-production F-39E fighters received by Brazil on 24 November 2021 join the F-39E FTI aircraft received in September 11th 2019 It was a single-seat F-39E Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) aircraft delivered to Brazil for a flight test campaign in Sweden and Brazil. The complete delivery schedule has several dates of delivery, the last two fighters scheduled to be delivered to the FAB in 2026.

Other contracts associated with the Gripen fleet include a USD9.1 billion offset deal on 24 October 2014; a five-year, SEK541 million contractor logistics support (CLS) contract on 18 December 2014; a USD245.3 million contract for weapons on 23 April 2015; and a financing contract on 25 August 2015.

Why SAAB Gripen is the choice of the Brazilian Air Force ?

Gripen as a multi-mission aircraft, will enhance the mission capabilities of the Brazilian Air Force. We are talking different types of missions relating to defence, interception, attack, reconnaissance, and more.

“Gripen’s production capacity is stimulating the Brazilian Industrial base that is made up of a number of companies participating in the project. This also brings a positive energy to the economy of the country,” says Jackson Schneider, President and CEO Embraer Defense and Security.

According to Mikael Franzen, Vice President Marketing & Sales Saab Aeronautics, Embraer being the main Brazilian partner of Saab in the programme, is receiving around 60 to 70% of the technology transfer and offset packages.

“Because it is a multi-mission fighter, it will support our air defence needs with its air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities. It is therefore a complete aircraft. This is why we could appoint only Gripen to serve the entire fighter aviation in Brazil,” explains Lte Brig Av Antonio Carlos Moretti Bermudez, Brazilian Air Force Commander.

Check the videos below for more detailed information :

© copyright.  SAAB / Brazilian Air Force (FAB) / Sweeden Air Force.

See below the success of GRIPEN in CANADA and worldwide:

See below: SAAB video release registering the delivery of two first GRIPEN FIGHTERS production units to Brazil, on April 2nd 2022:

© copyright.  SAAB / Brazilian Air Force (FAB) / Sweeden Air Force.

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Please, check out other KEY ON-GOING BUSINESS CASES at Brazilian Air Force (FAB), Brazilian Navy and other opportunities for Latin America:

• BUSINESS CASE SGDC 1 & 2
• BUSINESS CASE FAB / AEB “ALCANTARA launching base”
• BUSINESS CASE FAB – CARPONIS-1 / HR Remote Sensing
• BUSINESS CASE SMART AGRICULTURE – NB-IoT
• BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE “AMAZONIA-1”
• BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSE SATELLITE “CBERS”
• BUSINESS CASE ELETROBRAS – HYDROELETRIC POWER
• BUSINESS CASE VALE – ENERGY STORAGE
• BUSINESS CASE MB “UNMANNED AIRCRAFT”
• BUSINESS CASE SISFRON – BRAZILIAN TERRESTRIAL BORDER
• BUSINESS CASE “AMAZÔNIA AZUL”
• BUSINESS CASE BRAZILIAN NAVY NUCLEAR PROGRAM
• BUSINESS CASE MB “ANTI-SHIP MISSILE”
• BUSINESS CASE MB “TAMANDARÉ FRIGATES”

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