The first Saab Gripen fighter jet assembled outside Sweden has successfully completed its inaugural flight at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto site, paving the way for local production of supersonic aircraft in Brazil.
The maiden sortie took place on 6 October, with Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg at the controls.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The flight, designed to verify basic systems and assess preliminary performance, also marked the aircraft’s first production acceptance test and triggered the start of the final manufacturing phase at Embraer’s facility in São Paulo State, according to both companies.
Embraer engineers led the planning and execution of the flight, backed by support from Saab. Saab stated that the achievement is a further milestone in the ongoing technology transfer to Brazil, a central pillar of the binational Gripen programme.
Saab aeronautics business area head Marcus Wandt said: “This maiden flight shows that Gripen production in Brazil has reached a new level of maturity. I am proud of our close cooperation with Embraer in the Gripen programme, which establish a solid foundation for Gripen´s future development in Brazil.”
After completing its production and acceptance flight test campaign, the new fighter will be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force and transferred to Anápolis Air Base, where it will join the First Air Defense Group (1st GDA), currently operating Gripen E jets.
This aircraft, officially presented by Embraer on 25 March 2026, is the first of 15 units scheduled to be assembled in Brazil under the current agreement.
Embraer’s São Paulo site now hosts the only supersonic fighter production line in South America and is integrated into Saab’s global supply network.
Embraer defence and security president and CEO Bosco da Costa Junior said: “This first flight of a Gripen E produced in Brazil by Embraer is a historic milestone for the country’s aerospace and defense industry.
“It confirms the success of a long-term strategy that combined the vision of the Brazilian Air Force, Saab’s technological expertise and Embraer’s engineering and industrial capabilities.”
Brazil’s Gripen programme began with a 2014 contract covering 36 aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force, composed of 28 single-seat Gripen E and eight two-seat Gripen F variants.
Deliveries began in 2020, and ten aircraft have been handed over so far. The programme involves an extensive technology transfer and industrial cooperation framework, embedding Brazilian engineers and specialists into all phases from development to flight testing.
Embraer and Saab signed a Heads of Agreement in July to expand their collaboration, outlining plans for the potential production of an additional 20 Gripen units at Gavião Peixoto, with an eye on further domestic and export opportunities.
If realised, this would allow Brazil’s manufacturing capability to complement Saab’s primary assembly line in Sweden.
In August, Saab carried out the inaugural flight of the Gripen F, a two-seat version developed under the technology transfer partnership with Brazil.
