Saab flew the two-seat Gripen F for the first time from Linköping, Sweden, on 28 August, beginning flight testing for the twin-seat member of the Gripen E/F family. The roughly 40-minute sortie lifted off at 09:40 local time and carried Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg in the front seat and Brazilian Air Force test pilot Lt. Col. Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos in the rear.
The flight opens the test campaign for a configuration developed within the Gripen programme linked to Brazil’s fighter procurement and technology-transfer effort. The two-seat aircraft extends the E/F line beyond the single-seat Gripen E and is intended to validate basic handling and onboard systems before later test points in the programme. The Brazilian involvement reflects the central role of the country in the wider Gripen partnership, where local industrial participation and training have been key elements of the deal.
The event is a first-flight milestone rather than a delivery or operational entry into service, and it comes as Saab continues work on the Brazilian-linked Gripen E/F development path.