SAAB has completed the production of the first rear fuselage of the Gripen fighter jet produced on Brazilian territory. The part, manufactured in São Bernardo do Campo, will be part of the first national batch of aerostructures to be sent to Gavião Peixoto, where the Gripen fighter jet production line operates in Brazil.
The rear fuselage is the structure that houses the Gripen fighter jet engine. The part has components made of aluminum and titanium, with dimensions of 1.90m in width, 1.20m in height, and 2.50m in depth. Its weight is approximately 220 kilos and it comprises 750 parts for its assembly.
This is the second most complex aerostructure in production at the Saab Brazil factory in São Bernardo do Campo, and will be sent directly to the Embraer factory in Gavião Peixoto, where the Gripen fighter production line was inaugurated in Brazil.
Along with the first rear fuselage, Saab Brazil will also send the second front fuselage produced in the country. Both structures should be available on the national production line later this month.
«This is the start of a supply flow of aerostructures produced at the Saab factory in São Bernardo do Campo for the fighter production line in Gavião Peixoto, strengthening the national chain formed by the Brazilian Gripen Program,» commented Alexandre Barbosa, engineering manager of the aerostructures factory in Brazil.
The Brazilian factory is part of the global chain for fighter parts. This means that the parts produced in São Bernardo do Campo by Brazilian professionals can be sent both to Gavião Peixoto and to Linköping, in Sweden.
«This is another milestone for Saab. Our plant is 100% operational, working on all the packages defined for Brazil. We have already reached an excellent degree of industrial maturity in the production of smaller parts, like the aerodynamic brakes and tail cones. Now, we are advancing in the production of the most complex parts, such as the front and rear fuselages. Thus, Brazil already has the knowledge, tools, processes, and professionals necessary for the manufacture of structural components of a supersonic aircraft,» emphasizes Fabrício Saito, director of the Saab Brazil factory, in São Bernardo do Campo.
