New F-39 Gripen fighter of the Brazilian Air Force flies to its destination base

On Friday, December 15, another F-39 Gripen fighter jet took off from Navegantes airport bound for Anapolis air base, where it will be incorporated into the Brazilian Air Force’s 1st Air Defense Group, the Jaguar Squadron.

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Hoje (15/12), mais um caça F-39 Gripen da FAB decolou de Navegantes/SC com destino a Anápolis/GO. A aeronave chegou ao Brasil na última segunda-feira (11/12) e será incorporada ao 1º Grupo de Defesa Aérea, Esquadrão Jaguar.@saabdobrasil
???? Ten Kelly#FAB #AsasQueProtegemOPaís… pic.twitter.com/QUBbmVtAge

— Força Aérea Brasileira ???????? (@fab_oficial) December 15, 2023

The aircraft arrived in Brazil at the port of Navegantes (Santa Catarina), last Monday, December 11, aboard the Dutch ship MV Florijngrachty, from Sweden. Unlike previous deliveries, this time the ship brought only one F-39 fighter, when it normally carried two.

As reported by our partner site Aeroin, after landing, the aircraft was transferred by land to the Ministro Victor Konder International Airport, in the coastal city of Santa Catarina, where it was inspected and prepared for today’s flight.

With the arrival of this aircraft, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) will have 7 units of its new 4.5 generation multirole combat aircraft. In addition to the fighters delivered to the FAB, another F-39 is also in Brazil, undergoing joint tests between Embraer and Saab as part of the technology transfer agreement.

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In addition to the 36 fighters originally contracted to the Swedish firm SAAB, the FAB plans to increase the firm order to 70 units in successive blocks in order to phase out its older fighters, such as the AMX or the F-5BR, even if that means devoting fewer resources to other important programs, such as the KC-390 Millennium.

In relation to this last point, it is worth noting that Embraer and Saab announced in April their intention to collaborate to position the C-390 Millennium as the preferred candidate to replace the Swedish Air Force’s C-130H military transport aircraft. Brazil and Sweden are likely tying negotiations for a new batch of Gripen fighters for Brazil with the incorporation of the C-390 into the Swedish Air Force (Svenska flygvapnet).