Saab tests IRIS-T missile with Gripen

Saab conducted the first test firing of a Diehl BGT Defence IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile from a Gripen fighter over Sweden?s Vidsel test range on 12 June, during the 6,000th test flight of a JAS39 aircraft.

Involving high-speed weapon release from a JAS39B test aircraft flying at around 2,000ft (610m), the unguided test was ?a complete success?, says Saab test pilot Fredrik Müchler.

Saab will perform another unguided release of the IRIS-T and two guided firings against target drones at Vidsel later this year under a national test programme worth SKr150 million ($21.3m). These are intended to prove the missile?s operating envelope across more difficult flight conditions and at a higher load factor, says Müchler.
Also on order for Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway and Spain, the IRIS-T will replace Sweden?s current inventory of Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

Gripen to get AESA in mid-life upgrade

Keeping pace with the technology trend, Saab?s JAS39 Gripen is to be fitted with a multi-channel active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, likely to be introduced under a planned mid-life upgrade (MLU) that could come along as early as 2010.

Development of the AESA radar for Gripen started out under the Saab Ericsson NORA (Not Only a RAdar) programme, and has been underway for several years, including test flying aboard a specially-retained Saab JA-37 Viggen testbed. One of the main benefits of the NORA concept was the provision of improved long-range tracking as a result of the combination of longer detection range and electronically-steered beam control. The AESA radar programme is directly linked to MIDAS (Multifunction Integrated Defensive Avionics System), which will also add electronic attack and advanced datalinking capabilities.

Radar upgrades for in-service Gripens are already underway and the AESA project is planned to follow the current Mk.IV upgrade for the type?s Saab Ericsson PS-05/A pulse-doppler radar, which adds precision strike modes and improved synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability.

The AESA developments are being lined up for what is now being dubbed the ?Next Generation Gripen? programme, notably including the proposed variants to meet F-16AM/BM replacement requirements for Norway and Denmark, known as Gripen N and Gripen DK respectively. An AESA version of its current PS-05/A radar, which, can reportedly track airborne targets at  distances of up to 120km would provide enhanced multi-mode capabilities for Gripen-NG, as well as extended range for beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles.

Looking further ahead, Saab Microwave Systems, Selex Sistemi Integrati and Elettronica are involved in the development of the next generation of microwave multi-function, multi-role systems under the multi-role active electronically scanned antenna (M-AESA) programme. The introduction of M-AESA technology will greatly increase the potential of microwave system performance, boosting the ability to detect, track and identify small targets even in the most confused battlespace.

More power and more payload for Gripen demo

Saab chose the Paris Air Show to reveal details of its new Gripen Demonstrator programme. The Gripen Demo aircraft will act as a technology demonstrator and testbed for an upgrade configuration for the Swedish air force, and as the prototype for planned ?Future Gripens?, including the Gripen N for Norway, the Gripen DK for Denmark, and perhaps even for a variant to meet India?s MMRCA requirement.

The programme is planned to ?keep Gripen at the leading edge of fighter aircraft performance and capability, well beyond 2040?, according to Gripen International?s managing director, Johan Lehander.

The Gripen Demo aircraft will have a revised configuration, with a new forward-retracting main landing gear that frees up internal volume for extra fuel, and with distinctive bulged wingroot fairings underwing providing further increases in internal volume. The use of these fairings replaces the upper fuselage conformal tanks seen on previous  studies, and will provide an extra 38% of internal fuel, taking the total to 3,130 kg.

The relocated and beefed-up undercarriage will allow a 2-tonne increase in maximum take off weight, to 16t. This in turn will allow the aircraft to carrier heavier warloads (up to 6,000kg), and to facilitate this, the Gripen Demo will have new side by side under-fuselage pylons (augmenting the single centreline pylon) and underwing hardpoints capable of carrying twin pylons.

The aircraft will be powered by a new 22,000lb engine, provisionally dubbed the F414G. This is based on the General Electric F414-GE-400 engine that powers the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, with full authority digital electronic control software for enhanced safety and reliability.

The F414 engine is a derivative of the original F404 - the existing Gripen engine, the RM-12, is a variant ? and combines proven reliability, maintainability and operability with advanced technology. The F414G will deliver some 4,000lb more thrust than the RM-12, giving a useful boost in performance. Some sources give the new engine a 26,000lb thrust rating ? doubling the advantage.

The aircraft will also be fitted with an AESA radar, probably based on Ericsson?s long-running NORA and Saab/Selex? M-AESA programmes.
Sweden has a requirement to upgrade some 31 early Gripens to C/D standards, but it may now leapfrog a generation and be upgraded to a standard similar to the Gripen Demo.

Sweden to approve Saab's Gripen upgrade

The Swedish government is poised to approve a key demonstration programme that will support the continued development of the Saab Gripen for the nation's air force and potential future export customers.

Due to be considered by the Swedish parliament last week, the project will lead to test flights between next year and 2010 of an improved two-seat JAS39B equipped with a new engine, redesigned undercarriage, 40% increase in internal fuel capacity and a 2t growth in maximum take-off weight to 16t.

The enhancements were outlined last year as part of an effort to support operations of the Gripen until around 2040 (Flight International, 27 June-3 July 2006).

A key element of the project will be the integration of a new F414G engine developed by General Electric in conjunction with Sweden's Volvo Aero.

Derived from the propulsion system for Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the design is to deliver more than 22,000lb (96kN) of thrust, marking a 35% increase over the Gripen's current F404 powerplant.

The engine - two test examples of which are already being produced - will also enable the aircraft to achieve supercruise performance, says Gripen International managing director Johan Lehander.

Additional companies already signed up to support the wider demonstration project include APPH, Honeywell, Martin-Baker, Rockwell Collins and Terma, and Lehander says a partner will be selected later this year to collaborate with Saab Microwave Systems on the development of an active electronically scanned array radar for the aircraft.

It will also be equipped with new weapons, potentially including the US Small Diameter Bomb and an air-launched development of the Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Naval Strike Missile,

In addition to supporting export campaigns in nations including Denmark, India and Norway, the programme will serve as a risk-reduction effort for a proposed deal to rebuild 31 of Sweden's current JAS39A/Bs to a Future Gripen configuration, says Saab chief executive Ake Svensson.

The new standard should be available from the middle of the next decade, the company says.

The demonstrator and future development efforts will be conducted without the involvement of Gripen International stakeholder BAE Systems. "Now it's time for Saab to take more responsibility," says Svensson.

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