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Even as the Indian Air Force is planning trials for Saab's Gripen aircraft for its $10 billion fighter aircraft deal, Saab completed a successful first flight of its next generation smart fighter, Gripen E at the company's Linkoping site in Sweden.
The maiden flight marks a major milestone for the company which is looking at the 2019 delivery of the first jet.
The air forces from Sweden (60 Gripen E models) and Brazil (36 jets) are the current customers for the aircraft, while the Indian Air Force is a “likely potential” given the IAF's need for 200 single-engine fighter planes made in India with a local partner, in what is being touted as India's biggest military aircraft deal.
Though seven years ago Saab's Gripen had undergone extensive trials in India, the aircraft then did not possess an advanced radar called AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array).
The IAF has announced it will soon undertake limited trials in order to test the new capabilities of the aircraft.
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