Synopsis
Since the 1950's, the ever-increasing size and cost of modern fighter aircraft has continued almost unabated. At the dawn of this new Millennium the Worlds first true fourth generation ?swing-role? fighter aircraft to enter service has begun what should amount to a universal reversal of this big is better trend. The Swedish Saab Gripen is truly a remarkable achievement for a nation with only an eight million population. Designed during the Cold War, the Gripen has easily adapted to the New World environment of regional conflict and in the near future Swedish Air Force Gripen's will participate in United Nations operations such as operation Deny Flight, the enforcement of the No Fly Zones over Bosnia Herzegovina. Like its contemporaries from both east and west, the Gripen emerged into an uncertain post 'Cold War' world, a world in which it had to fight hard for its survival. Sweden remains vehemently neutral and remains determined to preserve its neutral stance while moving closer to co-operation with NATO. Although facing a much-reduced threat from the east, Sweden requires a high performance combat aircraft, which is capable of defending the nation from aggressive acts. The post Cold War tensions in the Baltic States in the early 1990's and an unstable Russia further highlighted the need for an advanced fighter. Included in this, the first full work dedicated to the Gripen, are chapters on the genesis of the Gripen, which is extensively covered, as is the development program and service entry. The aircraft and its systems: avionics and weapons are also extensively covered in dedicated chapters as are the aircraft's export potential and future developments. The work also includes detailed appendices and a chronology of the Gripen program. An essential part of Sweden's defence force, the Gripen employs 'information superiority' giving the Gripen pilot, unparalleled situational awareness a major advantage in winning the 'information battle'. Aggressively marketed on the export market in co-operation with BAE Systems, Gripen achieved its first export success when the aircraft was ordered by South Africa in 1999 and has recently been selected by Hungary.
