Brazilian Air Force flies first Gripen F twin-seat fighter in Sweden

Brazilian Air Force officials celebrated the successful first flight of the Gripen F, a twin-seat variant of Saab's JAS 39 fighter, which lifted off from the company's Linköping, Sweden, base on Friday morning. The 40-minute mission was piloted by Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg alongside Brazilian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos, focusing on confirming the jet's essential systems.

Lars Tossman, head of Saab Aeronautics, called the event a significant step for both nations, emphasizing its impact on pilot training and advanced combat missions. Following the maiden flight, the program will move into a progressive envelope-expansion stage, gradually pushing the aircraft toward its full speed, altitude, G-load and angle-of-attack limits while assessing two-seat cockpit functions. Brazil, as launch customer, contributed more than 350 engineers, technicians and pilots through a technology-transfer partnership, and will designate the aircraft locally as the F-39F. Earlier this year, Embraer and Saab completed the first F-39E at Embraer's São Paulo plant, underscoring Brazil's growing role in the Gripen family.