--- title: "Saab’s Gripen F Two-Seater Takes To The Air For The First Time" description: "The two-seat advanced Gripen offers additional flexibility and could be especially relevant for future operations alongside drones. Rapid software upgrades and a renewed Canadian sales push are expanding the Gripen’s prospects." date: "2026-08-28" modified: "2026-08-28" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/saabs-gripen-f-two-seater-takes-to-the-air-for-the-first-time" categories: - "Air" - "Americas" - "Around The Globe" - "Fighters" - "Gripen" - "News & Features" - "South America" --- # Saab’s Gripen F Two-Seater Takes To The Air For The First Time ![Saab has successfully completed the first flight of Gripen F, the two-seat variant of Gripen E. The aircraft took off at 09:40 local time from Saab’s airfield in Linköping, Sweden, and remained airborne for 40 minutes.]() *Saab* Saab’s first Gripen F two-seat fighter has taken to the air, marking the beginning of the flight-test campaign for a variant being developed [in close cooperation]() with Brazil. The aircraft departed Saab’s airfield at Linköping, Sweden, at 9:40 a.m. local time today and remained airborne for approximately 40 minutes. Saab chief test pilot Jakob Högberg and Brazilian Air Force test pilot Lt. Col. Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos were in the cockpit for the inaugural sortie. ![]() *Gripen F test pilots Jakob Högberg and Lt. Col. Aviator Abdon de Rezende Vasconcelos. *Saab** According to Saab, the flight was intended primarily to verify the aircraft’s core systems and initial flying characteristics. The company says the aircraft will now enter a more extensive test program, including progressive expansion of its permitted flight envelope. That work will eventually cover the aircraft’s speed, altitude, G-loading, and angle-of-attack limits, as well as the tactical capabilities and systems associated specifically with the rear cockpit. “This first flight represents an important step forward for both Saab and the Brazilian Air Force,” said Lars Tossman, head of Saab business area Aeronautics. “Seeing Gripen F take to the skies is particularly significant for all the Swedish and Brazilian teams whose years of engineering work have helped turn this aircraft into a reality. It is designed to accelerate pilot training while enhancing operational performance in advanced combat missions.” ![]() *First flight of the Gripen F, with landing gear extended. *Saab** The Gripen F is the two-seat derivative of the [Gripen E](), but it is not simply a conventional trainer version of the single-seat fighter. Saab has designed the rear cockpit to be independently functional, allowing the aircraft to retain an operational combat role while carrying a second crew member. The configuration is therefore intended to support conversion training and mission preparation while also offering potential advantages during complex combat missions through the division of cockpit workload. This could also include as a ‘drone controller,’ [a growing area of interest]() for [many air forces]() and something that Saab is also working toward with its [uncrewed aircraft plans](). ![]() *The Gripen F before its first flight. *Saab** Combining the Gripen F, in particular, with a high-end drone of the kind that Saab envisages, would make a good deal of sense. Saab has already pitched its stealthy, supersonic Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) ‘fighter drone’ as an adjunct for the single-seater, describing it as “a great asset to the Gripen E.” Saab envisages the Gripen E serving as a tactical mission commander for one or more ACPs, working in conjunction with the company’s [GlobalEye]() airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. ![Saab has unveiled its roadmap for its Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) program, a stealthy, supersonic ‘fighter drone,’ which could enter service in the 2030s with the Swedish Air Force and potentially other customers. The aerospace and defense company is already working on two uncrewed technology demonstrators and today presented a full-scale mock-up of an operational drone that those two aircraft could inform.]() *The Saab A3 concept for its future Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) ‘fighter drone.’ *Thomas Newdick* Thomas Newdick* The dual-crew benefits of the Gripen F, combined with the ACP, could give Saab an even more compelling route into the CCA market. After all, a fourth-generation fighter like the Gripen (Saab, it should be noted, [rigorously avoids using this generational terminology]()), can remain highly relevant when teamed with CCAs, and a high-performance, stealthy drone like the ACP could make that combination even more potent. It could, at least possibly in some cases, allow air forces to skip the sixth-generation crewed combat air platforms altogether, or at least greatly reduce the need for them. Brazil is central to the Gripen F program. The country was the launch customer for the two-seat variant and participated directly in its development as part of the broader technology-transfer arrangement underpinning its Gripen acquisition. The first Gripen F was formally rolled out at Saab’s Linköping facility in June. Brazil’s original 2014 agreement with Saab covers 36 aircraft, in the form of 28 single-seat Gripen E fighters and eight Gripen F two-seaters. Deliveries of Brazilian Gripens began in 2020. ![]() *Rollout of the Gripen F. *Saab** The F-model has also attracted interest beyond Brazil. Saab has subsequently received Gripen F orders from [Thailand]() and [Colombia](). The South American nation will get two Gripen Fs, while the breakdown of Thailand’s Gripen E/F order has not been revealed. According to Saab, the 16 new-build Gripens [ordered for Ukraine]() will all be single-seaters. As for the Swedish Air Force, this plans to buy 60 single-seat Gripen Es, but bearing in mind the changing security situation in Europe, and the increasing focus on uncrewed aircraft, a future Gripen F order should not be ruled out. In particular, Saab has said it expects the Swedish government to acquire new Gripen E/Fs to backfill the 12 earlier [Gripen C/D variants it has donated to Kyiv](), and which are expected to arrive in Ukraine early next year. https://twitter.com/ForsvarsdepSv/status/2059982969163440338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2059982969163440338%7Ctwgr%5E8395933b45cdcb40f2d6cd03b2bb0c314faeafc5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twz.com%2Fair%2Fukrainian-gripen-fighters-to-arrive-in-2027-long-range-meteor-missiles-claimed-to-be-included Saab also remains upbeat about the prospect of [a Canadian order]() for the Gripen E/F. Sweden has made a strong push to sell Gripen to Ottawa, and Saab [offered to build the jet in Canada](), in an effort to secure support for its previous bid, which it lost to [Lockheed Martin and the F-35](). Since then, Saab has also emerged as the [preferred candidate]() to supply Canada with its future AEW&C capabilities via its [GlobalEye](). Days after trade talks between Ottawa and Washington [collapsed]() this month, further straining the Canada-United States relationship, Saab chief executive Micael Johansson told *TWZ* and other journalists that Gripen would be the “perfect” option if Canada moves ahead with a joint fighter purchase. The Swedish jet would add “combat mass” alongside the F-35, according to Johansson. “I don’t think Canada will give up the F-35 completely; they will go forward with that to some extent,” Johansson said. Johansson also pointed to the Gripen’s ability to operate from highway strips as well as conventional runways: “You get to use all kinds of airstrips that you cannot use with the F-35,” he added. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-2Xde54xz4 Part of the Saab pitch to Canada is the establishment of a new domestic final assembly line for the Gripen E/F, which woud be the third such facility after Sweden and Brazil. As for [the Brazilian connection](), this extends well beyond aircraft procurement. Saab says more than 350 Brazilian engineers, technicians, and pilots have participated in activities covering Gripen development, [production](), flight testing, and maintenance. Brazilian industry, including Embraer, has consequently become deeply involved in the program. ![]() *A Brazilian Air Force Gripen E. *Saab** Meanwhile, Saab is continuing to expand what the fighter can actually do once it leaves the factory. Recent work has included a test launch of the [Taurus KEPD 350]() cruise missile, as well as last year’s integration of [Helsing’s Centaur AI]() agent, which was tested in a beyond-visual-range combat scenario. https://twitter.com/flygvapnet/status/2090826159277641931?s=20 Speaking last week, Johan Segertoft, head of Saab’s Gripen business unit, points to the fighter’s digital architecture as a key enabler of the rapid integration of new capabilities. The company says the Centaur integration took just 10 weeks. “We chose BVR because it’s one of the most complex things to prove that we could take third-party software and do it, but there’s a lot of things in an aircraft and outside an aircraft that benefit from the advancement of software,” Segertoft said. Since the Gripen E first flew in 2017, Saab has implemented around 300 capability upgrades, according to Segertoft. He contrasts that with what he describes as a theoretical maximum of around five upgrades for competing aircraft. ![]() *The Gripen E used in the Centaur AI trials. *Saab** That approach is summed up by Saab’s internal mantra, Segertoft says: “code in the evening, deploy in the morning, learn by lunch.” The Gripen F test campaign will now move beyond basic systems checks toward progressively more demanding flight conditions. Saab’s Flight Test Center in Sweden will conduct the campaign before the aircraft undergoes the remaining acceptance procedures and is eventually handed over to the Brazilian Air Force. The first flight therefore represents a milestone not only for Saab’s new two-seat fighter but also for the industrial partnership that produced it. Potentially, that model could be repeated in Canada in the future. *Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()