Skip to content Go to main navigation Go to language selector

First flight Brazilian Gripen E

3 February 2021

FAB Pilots Start Gripen Conversion Training in Sweden

2 min read

Four FAB (Brazilian Air Force) pilots have started their conversion training for operating Gripen back in Brazil, reports blogbeforeflight. The training, which started on January 19, 2021, is currently taking place at the Swedish Air Force's F7 Wing in Sweden.

A total of 10 FAB pilots will undergo the conversion training on SwAF Gripen C/D this year. After training for combat readiness with Gripen, the pilots will return to the Jaguar Squadron of the 1st Air Defense Group (1º GDA) at Anápolis Air Force Base where the operational implementation of the new FAB Gripen E will begin later this year.

Speaking at the beginning of the training, Lieutenant Colonel Leandro Vinicius Coelho, Commander of the 1° GDA, says "These fighter pilots have been previously selected and prepared for this moment. They are ready to start the course and, certainly, they will best represent our country and the Brazilian Air Force in this noble mission." He adds that the first wave of training is extremely important as it will set the wheels in motion for the rest of the courses.

The training includes several professional drills, such as qualifying in a 9G centrifuge, conversion training with Gripen D, and training for specific flight test techniques for Gripen.

Major Vítor Cabral Bombonato, future Gripen pilot and one of the four trainees, says “The start of the course represents another important step in the implementation process. The aircraft is getting closer and closer to becoming operational. For us, this is a moment of great pride."

Read the full story here.

More stories about:

Gripen blog

Gripen technology put to the test in offensive missions at Cruzex 2024

Destroying, disrupting or limiting enemy military aviation: these are basically the objectives of Offensive Counterair (OCA), one of the air force tasks in which the Gripen E is being deployed during Cruzex 2024.

Dispersed operations with Gripen - resilient combat effect that counts

The war in Ukraine has compelled air forces to re-learn some important forgotten lessons. If any air base can be attacked without warning, how can your fighter force survive to operate and continue defending your nation?

Gripen undergoes tropical testing in northern Brazil

The recent climate tests conducted in Belém and Salinópolis exposed the Gripen to hot and humid conditions, with temperatures reaching approximately 35ºC and humidity of 85% at sea level.

Hungarian Air Force and Gripen – many milestones reached

On Friday 26th April, the morning at the Kecskemét Airbase looked a bit different than standard morning – technicians were not working around the Gripen fleet, pilots were not preparing for their next mission (but of course, everyone was still ready for Alpha scramble should it come).

Gripen duriing a dispersed airbase exercise.

Deploy. Survive. Win.

The Gripen fighter system exists to guarantee air superiority in time of war. Sweden’s operational requirements for Gripen were driven by a superpower threat of all-out conflict across air, land and sea. This simple statement hides the highest possible objective; national survival. The result was a fighter from Saab that is threat-driven at every point in its design, and utterly unique.

7 Feb 2024 / By Jörgen Ericsson

Behind the scenes of a Gripen air-to-air photo-shoot

Executing a successful air-to-air photo-shoot requires quite a lot of planning and a bit of luck with the weather. At Saab Aeronautics communications department we made a formal request to the Swedish Air force to use one of their C-130 Hercules and a Gripen C aircraft to be able to shoot footage of the Gripen C and Gripen E flying together.

Brazilian Gripen E conducts IRST tests in simulated aerial combat

The Brazilian Gripen E aircraft with registration FAB 4100, dedicated to tests in Brazil, took part in a flight test campaign in Anápolis (GO) to assess the Infrared Search and Track (IRST), a passive long-range target detection sensor.

The Brazilian Air Force receives another Gripen E.

The fighter jet, with registration FAB 4107, landed at Anápolis Air Base (BAAN) on Friday morning, December 15.

Hungarian Gripen exercised in field conditions

The Adaptive Hussars 2023 exercise of the Hungarian Defence Forces brought pilots, technicians and equipment of the MH Szentgyörgyi Dezső 101st Aviation to the Lake Balaton area. Here, at Sármellék, a former air base used by Soviet Air Force for more than 33 years ago, acted as the new environment for five Hungarian Gripen fighters and its personell.

Gripen fighters at NATO Tiger Meet 2023

Gripen fighters from the two NATO countries Hungary and Czech Republic participated as usual. Both countries have a long story of participation in NATO led exercises and air policing assignments with their Gripens and NATO Tiger Meet is not an exception.