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Saab has teased several concepts, including this tailless Draken-like uncrewed aircraft system that could accompany Gripens and future crewed combat aircraft.
Saab is ratcheting up advanced development efforts to prepare for what could emerge as a third European fighter project.
With its heritage of developing and building combat aircraft since the late 1930s, the Swedish OEM is eager to maintain the capabilities to develop a next-generation combat aircraft, should Stockholm choose to go down the indigenous route after 2030.
- "Robust Low-Observability” technologies to be explored
- OEM has 150 in-house research and development projects
In March, Saab and GKN Aerospace were awarded contracts by Swedish defense materiel agency FMV to undertake studies to support the Vagval Stridsflyg project—translated as “choice of path for combat aircraft.” The research would help the government decide whether to pursue development of a next-generation fighter aircraft for the 2040s—likely replacing the C/D-model Gripens that the Swedish Air Force plans to maintain in service well into the 2030s alongside the new Gripen E, which is slated to enter front-line service in 2025.
Development efforts would continue until 2030, but currently the two companies are contracted for 2024-25, with negotiations for work in 2026 to follow (AW&ST April 8-21, p. 43).
The work covers operational analysis, system concepts, technology development and demonstrators, Peter Nilsson, head of Advanced Programs at Saab’s aeronautics business, told journalists during company briefings in Linkoping, Sweden, on May 20.
“In 2030, there will be a big discussion on a political level and [by the] armed forces: Are we joining someone else? Is it too late to join? Are we doing something on our own? Or are we going to close it all down?” Nilsson asked. “I’m pretty sure that by starting this program, they want to retain this capability in the country.”
He compares the effort with the early days of the UK Future Combat Air System-Technology Initiative (FCAS-TI) effort—a forerunner to the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP)—in which government and industry funding supported numerous technology maturation initiatives that paved the way for combat aircraft development.
Sweden had initially been a party to the UK-led FCAS efforts but withdrew after concluding that it was not in the same phase for combat aircraft development as the other partners.
Nilsson noted there are about 150 research and development projects at Saab alone that support the drive. He expects to prove out such technologies as artificial intelligence in company--operated Gripens, possibly backed by Saab’s investments in Germany-based Helsing and acquisition of California--based CrowdAI last September. Uncrewed aircraft system demonstrators will prove other technologies, he said.
For instance, Ruby, a General Electric J85-powered 6–7-m-wingspan (20-23-ft.) aircraft developed by engineers within its Rainforest technology accelerator, will prove out new-generation production methods and cost-effective avionics using technology based on cellphone hardware, Nilsson said. One of the aims for Ruby will be to discover “how far you can go” in terms of scale with 3D-printed components.
One advantage, Nilsson said, is that much of the sensor and electronic warfare (EW) capability required for a new fighter development is in-house at Saab—rather than outside with Leonardo and Mitsubishi Electric on GCAP, or with Indra and Thales on the European FCAS—which enables rapid development. “We have to be quicker from thought to flying. . . . This is a high-pace program-—they want us to be fast and quick,” he explained.
Saab’s research is exploring six pillars-: Among them are autonomy, rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing and what Nilsson called robust low observability. The goal of robust low observability would be to move away from reliance on easily damaged paints and coatings, which sometimes requires the airframe to be sent away for time-consuming repairs.
He suggested that a future Saab combat aircraft would likely be shaped for low observability (LO)—but not necessarily in all aspects—and likely fitted with a weapons bay. This LO would be combined with EW capabilities, which have been dismissed by other fighter manufacturers and air forces in recent years in favor of the stealth “silver bullet,” Nilsson pointed out, but whose usefulness is being urgently relearned in the face of the new threat from Russia.
EW is one of the key facets of Gripen E’s development. Wind tunnel tests have also been performed on a variety of configurations with LO features. Other technologies include a 3D-printed layered composite with embedded printed circuit boards that could pave the way for transmit/receive modules that form part of an active, electronically scanned array to be blended anywhere into an aircraft’s skin.
Sweden would still have to turn to its allies for an engine, Nilsson admitted. Stockholm is unlikely to pursue development of a national fighter engine, as such an effort would swallow significant funding. “We would likely have to turn to Rolls-Royce, [General Electric] or Pratt [& Whitney],” he said.
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