Saab and Embraer have completed the maiden flight of the first Gripen E produced in Brazil, lifting off on 6 October from Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto site in São Paulo state. The aircraft, flown by Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg, is the first Gripen assembled outside Sweden and has entered the production acceptance phase before delivery to the Brazilian Air Force.
The sortie was designed to verify basic system functions and assess initial performance ahead of the final stage of manufacturing and acceptance testing. Saab has now moved the jet into the final production acceptance campaign, after which it will be certified for delivery. The aircraft is the first of 15 Gripen Es planned for local production under the current programme.
Embraer formally presented the fighter in March, meaning the latest flight is a production milestone rather than the programme’s public debut. The jet will later join the Brazilian Air Force’s 1st Air Defence Group at Anápolis Air Force Base in Goiás, where 10 Gripens are already in service.