JAS 39 Gripen
JAS 39 Gripen


Role: Single-seat all-weather, all-altitude interceptor, attack and reconnaissance aircraft.
DESIGN FEATURES:
Intended to replace AJ/SH/SF/JA/AJS versions of Saab Viggen, in that order, and remaining J 35 Drakens; partners are Saab Military Aircraft, Ericsson Radar Electronics, Volvo Flygmotor and FFV Aerotech; to operate from 800 m (2,625 ft) Swedish V90 road strips; simplified maintenance and quick turnround with groundcrew comprising one technician and five conscripts. Delta wing with squared tips for missile rails has approximately 45o leading-edge sweepback; independently movable foreplanes have leading-edge sweep of approximately 43o.
LANDING GEAR:
AP Precision Hydraulics retractable tricycle gear, single mainwheels retracting hydraulically forward into fuselage; steerable twin-wheel nose unit retracts rearward. Goodyear wheels and tyres. Carbon disc brakes and ABS anti-skid units. Nosewheel braking. Entire gear designed for high rate of sink.
POWER PLANT:
One General Electric/Volvo Flygmotor RM12 (F404-GE-400) turbofan, rated initially at approximately 54 kN (12,140 lb st) dry and 80.5 kN (18,100 lb st) with afterburning. Near-rectangular intakes, each with splitter plate. Fuel in integral tanks in fuselage and wings. Intertechnique fuel management system.
ACCOMMODATION:
Pilot only in JAS 39A, on Martin-Baker S10LS zero/zero ejection seat. Hinged canopy (opening sideways to port) and one-piece windscreen by Lucas Aerospace. Two seats in tandem in JAS 39B; command sequence in two-seat aircraft ejects rear occupant first, simultaneously inflating an air bag between the two cockpits to protect the front pilot from Perspex splinters.
AVIONICS:
Comms: CelsiusTech dual VHF/UHF transceivers and IFF. Retrofit planned with tactical radio systems (TARAS). Radar: Ericsson/GMAv PS-05/A multimode pulse Doppler target search and acquisition (lookdown/shootdown) radar (weight 156 kg; 344 lb). For fighter missions, system provides fast target acquisition at long range; search and multitarget track-while-scan; quick scanning and lock-on at short ranges; and automatic fire control for missiles and cannon. In attack and reconnaissance roles, operating functions are search against sea and ground targets; mapping, with normal and high resolution; and navigation. Flight: Ericsson SDS 80 central computing system (D80 computer, Pascal/D80 high order language and programming support environment; upgraded D80E computer flown mid-1994 and introduced from 39.108); three MIL-STD-1553B databuses, one of which links flight data, navigation, flight control, engine control and main systems; Honeywell laser INS and radar altimeter; Nordmicro air data computer. BAe three-axis strapdown gyromagnetic unit provides standby attitude and heading information. Instrumentation: Ericsson EP-17 electronic display system, incorporating Kaiser wide-angle HUD and using advanced diffraction optics to combine symbology and video images; PP1 or PP2 display processors (PP12 in Production Lot 2 for colour imagery); three Ericsson CRT HDDs. Left-hand (flight data) HDD normally replaces all conventional flight instruments; central display shows computer generated map of area surrounding aircraft with tactical information superimposed; right-hand CRT is a multisensor display showing information on targets acquired by radar, FLIR and weapon sensors. Minimum of conventional analog instruments for back-up only. Mission: FLIR pod, carried under starboard air intake trunk, forward of wing leading-edge, for attack and reconnaissance missions at night, providing heat picture of target on right-hand HDD. Self-defence: Radar warning equipment; CelsiusTech countermeasures, including chaff/flare and jamming. Mission: RHWR.
ARMAMENT:
Internally mounted 27 mm Mauser BK27 automatic cannon in port side of lower front fuselage and two wingtip-mounted Rb74 (AIM-9L) Sidewinder infra-red AAMs standard. (No internal gun in JAS 39B.) Five other external hardpoints (two under each wing and one on centreline) for short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles such as Rb74, Mica or AIM-120 AMRAAM; air-to-surface missiles such as Rb75 (Maverick); anti-shipping missiles such as Saab RBS 15F; DASA DWS 39 munitions dispenser; conventional or retarded bombs; air-to-surface rockets; or external fuel tanks.
Aircraft Measures:
Wing span:8.40 m (27 ft 6{3/4} in)
Length overall:
JAS 39A: 14.10 m (46 ft 3 in)
JAS 39B: 14.755 m (48 ft 5 in)
Height overall: 4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)

Aircraft Performance:
Maximum Speed: supersonic at all altitudes

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