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12 July 2023

Saab concludes production of the first rear fuselage of the Gripen fighter in Brazil

2 min read

The structure, produced in São Bernardo do Campo, is part of the first batch of locally manufactured aerostructures set to be transported to Gavião Peixoto, where the final assembly line is situated.

The rear fuselage is the structure that holds the engine of the Gripen fighter. The piece consists of aluminium and titanium components, measuring 1.90m in width, 1.20m in height and 2.50m in length. It weights approximately 220 kilos and is made of 750 parts.

This is the second most complex aerostructure produced at the Saab Brasil factory, in São Bernardo do Campo, and will be sent directly to the Embraer factory, in Gavião Peixoto, where the Gripen fighter´s recently inaugurated Brazilian production line is located.

Along with the first rear fuselage, Saab Brasil will also send the second forward fuselage produced in the country. The two structures will be available for the national production line in July.

“This is the beginning of a flow of aerostructures produced at the Saab factory in São Bernardo do Campo to the production line in Gavião Peixoto, strengthening the national supply chain formed by the Brazilian Gripen Programme,” commented Alexandre Barbosa, Engineering and Facilities Manager at the aerostructures factory in Brazil.

The Brazilian factory is part of the global chain for Gripen E. This means that aerostructures produced in São Bernardo do Campo by Brazilian professionals can be sent both to Gavião Peixoto and to Linköping, in Sweden.

“This is another milestone for Saab. The factory is now 100% operational and we are working on all work packages defined for Brazil. We have already reached an excellent degree of industrial maturity in the production of smaller parts, such as aerodynamic brakes and the tail cones. Now, we are evolving in the production of the more complex parts, such as the forward and rear fuselage. Thus Brazil already has the knowledge, tools, processes and professionals needed to manufacture the structural components of a supersonic aircraft,” emphasises Fabrício Saito, director of the Saab Brasil factory in São Bernardo do Campo.

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