Summary and Key Points: Defense expert Steve Balestrieri evaluates the Saab JAS 39E Gripen, highlighting its role as the centerpiece of Sweden’s Bas 90 dispersed basing system.
-Powered by the GE F414-GE-39E engine, the Gripen E achieves Mach 2 speeds and supports a “software-first” architecture using the Ada programming language.
-This report analyzes the aircraft’s integration of the Meteor BVR missile and IRIS-T, its $5,800 hourly operating cost, and its 2026 export challenges.
-Balestrieri concludes that while the JAS 39E Gripen outclasses 4th-generation rivals, its conventional radar profile complicates its role in a stealth-saturated NATO environment.
The JAS 39E Gripen Is An Outstanding Aircraft Mired In A Stealth World
The JAS 39E Gripen is an excellent aircraft prized for its advanced tech (AESA radar, powerful F414 engine, digital systems), operational flexibility (it can operate from dispersed roads, low maintenance for conscripts), and cost-effectiveness, making it a highly capable multi-role fighter, especially for smaller nations needing independent, versatile air power against larger threats like Russia.
The JAS 39E/F, often just called the Gripen, is a highly maneuverable, multi-role fighter aircraft developed by Sweden. The Gripen has been in service since 1996 and is a mainstay of the Swedish Air Force, with several other nations also adopting it.
JAS 39 Gripen. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
JAS 39 Gripen Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Saab JAS 39 Gripen E. Image from Saab.
JAS 39 Gripen. Image Credit: Saab.
It perfectly represents the Swedish defensive philosophy, emphasizing dispersed air operations and rapid maintenance. The Gripen E model’s new avionics package places it at the very acme of dogfighting fighter jets.
The JAS 39 Gripen E was just a refresh; it was a radical re-engineered aircraft that incorporates a larger fuel supply, the outstanding GE F414 engine, and a modern sensor-and-computing stack emphasizing situational awareness, AESA radar, IRST, and sensor fusion, according to Saab.
The Gripen E Was Designed For War Against Russia
The Gripen E is the centerpiece of Sweden’s Bas 90 air basing system, which eschews large, centralized air bases in favor of small groups of aircraft dispersed throughout the country. This makes them harder to target and hit with missiles targeting airfields.
The Bas 90 defense program is taken from lessons learned from the 1967 Six-Day War, in which the Israeli Air Force destroyed virtually the entire Egyptian fleet of aircraft, as well as dozens of other aircraft in other Arab countries. If a shooting war with Russia happens, the Swedes have done their research and homework, resulting in a strategy that works perfectly for them.
Bas 90 reduces the risk of having their aircraft taken out on the ground by its nationwide network of small, austere air bases. Gripens can use public roads to land and take off at these dispersed locations, requiring only a 500-meter strip of pavement. A good thrust-to-weight ratio, robust landing gear, and flight control systems aid this.
Unlike more advanced and much more capable aircraft, such as the F-35, the Gripen was explicitly designed for rapid servicing by young conscripts without much training or specialized experience.
Airmen from the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron talk about their execution plan next to an F-35 Lightning prior to the start of weapons load crew competition at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Oct. 16, 2020. Throughout the year weapons crews are put to the test of safely loading and unloading ordinance to their respective aircraft in front of their peers while being timed. At the end of the year, the winners from each event are pitted against each other to see which team is the best. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexandre Montes)
Refueling and rearming the Gripen E for an air-to-air mission takes less than 20 minutes, and only a limited number of ground crew and equipment are needed, ensuring rapid re-engagement. With low maintenance requirements per flight hour, the Gripen E spends more time airborne than in the maintenance shop.
The JAS 39E Powerful Engines Push It to Mach 2
The Gripen E has an outstanding power-to-weight ratio, being powered by a single General Electric F414 turbofan engine, and can reach maximum speeds of Mach 2 (approximately 1,500 miles per hour). The F414-GE-39E, a single-engine variant of the proven F414-GE-400, has been chosen to power Saab’s Next Generation Gripen aircraft.
The General Electric engine enables the Gripen E to supercruise without activating afterburners. GE has said that utilizing new fuels would increase the range up to 20 percent.
The F414 engine features 3D aerodynamics, an improved high-pressure turbine, and an advanced cooling system (16 percent more airflow than the F404 fan). The JAS-39E’s ferry range is 2,000 miles, but its combat range is 930 miles.
JAS 39E Blended Armaments
The JAS 39E Gripen has 10 hard points, offers the best-in-class weapons and pods worldwide, and has an unrivalled ease of store integration. The Gripen offers a nice blend of US and Swedish weapons, making it versatile and deadly.
Gripen E can conduct “air-to-air, air-to-surface, and reconnaissance missions. Air supremacy is achieved by carrying up to seven Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles and two Within Visual Range IRIS-T missiles.
Weapons like these, combined with the ability to use offensive and defensive means simultaneously, enable the Gripen E to detect, engage, and suppress or destroy targets effectively.”
The Meteor missile is 3.65 meters long, weighs 185 kg, travels at Mach 4, and has a classified range, estimated at 62+ miles. The Meteor also touts its large “No Escape Zone,” which means it can bring doom to adversarial airplanes before they know what is happening.
Image is of Saab Gripen fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Meteor’s ramjet-throttled propulsion system gives it the speed to knock out a bogey from long range and make enemy aviators pay the price. According to Saab’s website, this missile features “a jamming-resistant active radar seeker and proximity fuse.”
Adversaries can be engaged and destroyed at very long ranges, as the Meteor can lock on to a target and resist countermeasures. The two-way datalink enables the launch aircraft to provide mid-course target updates or retargeting, including data from off-board third parties.
The IRIS-T missile has a length of 2.94 meters, weighs 87.4 kg, travels at Mach 3, and has a range of up to 25 km. Enhanced acquisition range, higher hit accuracy, and warhead effectiveness as well as superior resistance to countermeasures. IRIS-T can also successfully engage targets behind the launching aircraft and be used in lock-on before and after launch operations.
The Gripen E also carries the 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon, and can carry air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder, air-to-ground missiles such as the AGM-65 Maverick, and anti-ship missiles such as the RBS-15.
The JAS 39 E Avionics “Makes Generations A Thing of the Past”:
The Saab Gripen’s avionics design separates mission system functionality from flight-critical software, enabling adaptation to new operational needs and supporting smooth capability growth without requiring recertification.
As soon as new technology becomes available, Gripen can be updated accordingly to ensure continuous capability growth. This changes the paradigm of extensive and costly mid-life upgrades that burden the availability of competing fighter fleets.
Saab says the aircraft’s core architecture permits upgrades to the mission software without affecting flight-critical functions.
“We code in the morning and fly in the afternoon,” explained Johan Segertoft, head of the Gripen business.
“In software, there are no generations, only speed.”
All of Gripen’s avionics are fully integrated via five MIL-STD-1553B digital data buses, an operation described as “sensor fusion.” This total integration makes the Gripen a “programmable” aircraft, enabling software updates over time to improve performance and expand operational roles and equipment.
The Ada programming language was adopted for the Gripen, and is used for the primary flight controls on the final prototypes from 1996 onwards and all subsequent production aircraft.
The JAS-39E Gripen’s Operational Costs Are Low:
The flyaway cost per aircraft is about $85 million, which is lower than the $100 million for the F-35. And its costs per flight hour are $5,800, easily beating the F-35’s $35,000 per flight hour.
Maintenance is cheaper, easier to perform, and ordinary airmen can carry out most refueling and rearming functions.
The JAS 39 E Gripen Is Still An 4th+-Generation aircraft:
Although Saab has said that the Gripen E has made generational talk “redundant,” the fact remains that, although an outstanding fighter aircraft that can hold its own against anything, it is still a 4th-generation aircraft without stealth capability.
The aircraft wasn’t designed for stealth and lacks the advanced radar-evading features of 5th-generation fighters, such as the F-35. Therefore, the Gripen E’s design is more conventional, without the specialized shapes and materials to minimize radar signatures, making it more easily detectable by radar.
The aircraft uses jamming and countermeasures to protect itself, whereas the stealth of other fighters, such as the F-35, is invisible to radar. And while the sensor fusion of the Gripen E is very good, the F-35’s is still better.
This is why Sweden is interested in building a fifth-generation or sixth-generation aircraft. They have worked the Gripen E to its absolute utmost, and it is time for a replacement.
Newer fifth-generation aircraft outperform the Gripen E in terms of speed and performance, but the fighter is a good choice for countries that can’t afford to purchase the stealth fighters on the market.
Saab has marketed the aircraft well and has several customers. Those include Sweden, Brazil, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
It has found a niche among countries seeking to reduce their reliance on the United States for defense purchases. However, the Gripen’s engine, the GE-F414, is also subject to US trade restrictions.
The Only Issue With The Gripen Is That It Isn’t a Stealth Fighter:
Everything about the aircraft is excellent, except that it lacks stealth capability. And with more and more countries wanting a stealthier profile with better radar evasion in their fighters, the Gripen is lacking.
It’s why much of Europe now operates the F-35. And NATO’s enemies are all developing stealth fighters. China already operates two different fifth-generation fighters, while Russia continues to forge ahead with its Su-57 Felon, though its stealth qualities are somewhat dubious.
Ukraine has ordered 150 Gripens, but whether it will receive all of them is currently debatable, as it will take Sweden a very long time to produce them. Current production rates range from 1.5 to 2.5 aircraft per month. Saab is trying to push production to three aircraft per month or 36 per year. That’s a four-year window.
Saab is also trying to sell 72 of the Gripen to Canada and has them back out of the deal with the United States to buy the fifth-generation F-35. Canada agreed to purchase 88 F-35s but is trying to back out of the deal for the final 72, since 16 of the F-35s have already been paid for.
But the issue is this: while the Gripen is an outstanding fighter today, how survivable will it be in just a few years? And Canada’s decision directly affects the United States, as part of NORAD.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.