Brazil Receives 11th Saab F-39E Gripen Jet From Saab, Lands at Anápolis Air Base

On 19 November 2025, the 11th F-39E Gripen destined for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) touched down at Anápolis Air Base. Flight 4111 — piloted by Major Thiago Camargo — landed at 10:26 local time after a one-hour, three-minute flight from Navegantes. Brazil has now received 11 of the 36 Gripen fighters ordered, leaving 25 aircraft still to be delivered. With this arrival, the Gripen fleet in Brazil continues to grow, underscoring persistent progress in a binational defence initiative.

Production and Transfer: A Binational Effort

The newly arrived 4111 was built at Saab AB’s headquarters in Linköping, Sweden, incorporating aero-structures manufactured in Brazil. As with earlier deliveries, the jet travelled by sea and underwent a coordinated logistics process involving over 30 sectors across 10 institutions from both countries, ensuring safe transport before its first Brazilian flight.

According to Peter Dölling, managing director of Saab Brazil, each Gripen delivery reinforces the maturity of an integrated production, logistics and operations cycle jointly run by Brazil and Sweden. Supported by a robust technology-transfer programme and industrial cooperation, the process continues to expand Brazil’s strategic capabilities.

Strategic Significance for Brazil’s Air Defence

Mauro Bellintani, president of COPAC, emphasised that each new F-39 Gripen delivered strengthens Brazil’s defence posture. Under the FX-2 Project, the arrival of 4111 adds “another capability — a powerful asset” for protecting national airspace.

With this delivery, the FAB now fields ten Gripens operating within the First Air Defence Group (1º GDA), while one aircraft remains dedicated to testing at the Gripen Flight Test Centre in Gavião Peixoto. The expanding fleet reflects ongoing progress in the broader Gripen Programme launched in 2013.

Origins of the Deal: Contract and Technology Transfer

Brazil selected Saab’s Gripen in 2013, signing a contract in 2014 valued at SEK 39.3 billion (about US$ 5.4 billion) for 36 fighters (28 Gripen E + 8 Gripen F). The agreement included logistics, support systems, training, weapons, and a major industrial cooperation and technology-transfer package.

The technology-transfer component — one of the largest in Saab’s history — enabled Brazilian engineers and pilots to train in Sweden. A total of more than 350 Brazilians have already been trained.

Under the industrial arrangement, 15 of the 36 aircraft will be assembled in Brazil on the production line inaugurated in May 2023 at Gavião Peixoto. Brazil also hosts the Gripen Design and Development Network, the Gripen Flight Test Centre, and Saab’s major aerostructures plant at São Bernardo do Campo, which recently doubled production capacity with a second rear-fuselage line.

Programme Delays, Extensions — and Future Prospects

The delivery schedule, originally planned for 2019–2024, has shifted. The updated timeline now extends deliveries to around 2032, meaning the remaining 25 aircraft will arrive gradually over the next several years.

Brazil and Sweden also signed a letter of intent in 2024 to expand future cooperation, which may lead to additional Gripen orders beyond the initial 36.

What Gripen 4111 Means for Brazil’s Defence Posture

Gripen 4111’s arrival marks steady advancement in a long-term bilateral effort. Each new aircraft enhances the FAB’s ability to monitor and defend its massive airspace.

With 11 delivered and 25 still pending, Brazil is steadily building a modern multirole fighter fleet that will shape the nation’s aerospace and defence future for decades.