LE BOURGET—Sweden’s defense materiel agency FMV is awaiting political approval to begin studies into a new-generation combat aircraft beyond the new Saab Gripen E.
The studies, to be carried out by the FMV, are due to get underway in the near future. They will primarily be a fact-finding effort and involve discussions with other air forces, an examination of other national programs and exploring the capabilities of national industry, Brigadier General Lars Helmrich, the director of the Air and Space Systems Division at Sweden’s FMV, told journalists during the annual gathering of the Swedish Air Force Fan Club on the eve of the Paris Air Show.
“It's not about procurement of the sixth generation, it is about asking the question about how we procure it,” Helmrich said.
Helmrich said it was too early to discuss any potential outcomes of the studies but noted that Sweden’s combat aircraft requirements were “out of sync” with the efforts of Italy, Japan and the UK’s Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) and those of France, Germany and Spain’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), because Sweden had already invested in the development and procurement of the Gripen E platform. Helmrich also noted that both crewed combat aircraft set to emerge from FCAS and GCAP are twin-engine and too large to fit around Sweden’s doctrine of dispersed basing to improve survivability. Both the GCAP and FCAS manned fighters are expected to be at least a third larger and heavier than the aircraft they will go on to replace.
It is likely that any Swedish future combat aircraft would likely first replace the Gripen C/D models which the Swedish Air Force is extending the life of to give it more mass in the face of the regional security situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The upgraded Gripen C/Ds will be expected to operate well into the 2030s.
Alternatively, the FCAS studies could conclude that Sweden purchases more Gripen Es in the future, Helmrich suggested, which would help Sweden and Saab preserve its combat aircraft development capability.
The new studies come after Sweden elected not to pursue continued involvement in the UK's future fighter effort which evolved and expanded into GCAP, although Helmrich suggested there was still a “political arrangement” and “sharing of information” in place. This appears to confirm statements made by Saab’s CEO, Micael Johansson who has previously described Sweden’s relationship with the program as a “sort of hibernation,” remaining part of the program, but not actively involved.
Helmrich, and air chief Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman were reluctant to discuss details of the Gripen C/D upgrade program, for which Saab was awarded study contracts worth SEK3.5 billion ($340 million) in April. Helmrich did say that the program would remove obsolescence from the Gripen C/D’s nervous system and upgrade the mechanically scanned radar, but not add an active electronically scanned array such as that developed by Saab for the platform. Wikman said the Swedish air force would be strengthened by the upgraded Gripen C/Ds which would act as a fourth-generation platform to the fifth-generation capabilities provided by the more advanced Gripen E.
“With two different versions, that gives us the possibility to combine fourth-generation capabilities and fifth-generation capabilities, enhancing our strength from different platforms,” Wikman said.
