Sweden’s future fighter concept studies
August 27, 2024
Dagens Nyheter (‘news of the day’) a Swedish daily newspaper published an interview with Peter Nilsson, Saab’s Head of Advanced Programmes, timed to coincide with the Försvarsmakten Flygdagen 2024 (Armed Forces Aviation Day 2024) celebrations.
In the article, Nilsson set out for a domestic Swedish audience how Saab is undertaking future fighter options work for the governments, and pointing out that Saab is ready (and an excellent choice) to do so. Accompanying illustrations showed both unmanned and manned combat air concepts.
Peter Nilsson said that Saab wants to build Sweden’s next combat aircraft, and has never been a better situation to do so, with a trained workforce, modern digital engineering techniques and the experience of developing the Gripen E and GlobalEye and co-developing the T-7A.
He disagrees with those who believe that it will be too expensive to indigenously develop a next generation Swedish fighter aircraft. “That’s wrong. We have succeeded quite well until now,” Nilsson says. “The same issue was raised in 1980, before the decision to build the JAS39.”
Nilsson believes that the best solution for Sweden’s national readiness is for Saab to do the same as it did with the Gripen. “That we have many partners, but that we decide the design ourselves,” he says. He points out that the Gripen E is not entirely Swedish, with 85% of the aircraft being supplied by partners, the majority of them foreign, with Saab combining the parts and build new, cheap and efficient.
The FMV signed a contract for development work with Saab and the engine manufacturer GKN this Spring, and is to hand in drawings for a prototype at the end of 2025. Saab hopes that this prototype (which should perhaps more accurately be described as a demonstrator) will lead to a new combat aircraft system. Meanwhile, Saab is looking at nanomaterials, AI and low observability, or stealth. FMV and the Swedish Armed Forces are also involved in these studies.
