Thu, Oct 21, 2004
First Export Model
Monday October 18 saw the take-off of the first Gripen fighter
ordered for export. The aircraft, which will be delivered to the
Czech Republic, was marked with Czech colors.
"This maiden flight marks an important milestone for Gripen on
the export market. Today's flight demonstrates that Saab is world
leading when it comes to developing modern fighters and that we
will stay in that position for a long time", says Johan Lehander,
head of Gripen operations at Saab Aerosystems.
The Czech Air Force will be the first NATO country to operate
Gripen, one of the world's most modern, fourth generation fighter
aircraft. The fighters will be delivered by FMV to the Czech
Republic from April 2005.
Gripen was up for 1 hour and 25 minutes and was flown by Mats
Thorbiornson, one of Saab's test pilots. Following today's maiden
flight there will be a period of further air and ground tests to
verify that the systems are working in line with the Czech
specifications.
The fighter that made the historical flight is the first of 14
aircraft that the Swedish state (FMV) is leasing to the Czech armed
forces.
The contract also includes training. Since August, the first
Czech pilots have been re-training for the Gripen systems at the F7
Swedish Air Force base in S�ten�s, western central
Sweden. Approximately 40 engineers are also being trained in Gripen
systems at the Armed Forces Halmstad Schools
(FMHS) on the south-west coast
Saab is one of the world's leading high-technology companies,
with its main operations focusing on defence, aviation and space.
The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capabilities in
systems integration.
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