Brazil Unveils First Locally Built Gripen E

Brazil’s Gripen fighter programme reached a significant new milestone on 25 March with the official unveiling of the first Gripen E combat aircraft assembled in Brazil, a development that underlines the growing maturity of the country’s defence aerospace sector.

Presented during a ceremony at Embraer’s industrial complex in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo State, the aircraft represents an important step in the long-running cooperation between Embraer, Saab and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). While the programme has always been about modernising Brazil’s fighter capability, the rollout of the first locally assembled aircraft also signals the transition from acquisition to sustained industrial participation.

The event brought together senior government, military and industry officials from both Brazil and Sweden, reflecting the strategic weight attached to the programme. Among those present were Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Swedish Ambassador to Brazil Karin Wallensteen, Defence Minister José Múcio Monteiro Filho, Brazilian Air Force Commander Lt Brig Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, Embraer President and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto, Embraer Defence & Security President and CEO Bosco da Costa Junior, and Saab President and CEO Micael Johansson.

The unveiling of the aircraft is notable not only from an operational standpoint but also from an industrial one. By assembling the Gripen E domestically, Brazil moves further into a select group of nations with the ability to produce advanced supersonic combat aircraft. That capability has not emerged overnight. It is the result of more than a decade of cooperation centred on industrial participation, technology transfer and workforce development. The Gripen programme was structured from the outset to do more than simply supply a new fighter to the FAB. It was also intended to strengthen Brazil’s aerospace base and expand national expertise in areas such as aircraft assembly, aerostructures, systems integration and testing.

Production of the Brazilian Gripen E is centred at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto facility, while aerostructures are also being produced at Saab’s operation in São Bernardo do Campo. The programme therefore combines local and international supply chains, creating a broader industrial footprint within Brazil. That model is expected to continue for the remaining aircraft to be produced under the current agreement.

Brazil signed for the Gripen in 2014, selecting Saab’s fighter to meet its future combat aircraft requirement. The contract covers 36 aircraft in total, including 28 single-seat Gripen E fighters and eight two-seat Gripen F variants. Deliveries began in 2020, and ten aircraft have already been handed over to the Brazilian Air Force. The newly unveiled aircraft will now undergo functional checks and production flight testing before final acceptance into service.

Once delivered, it will join the fleet operated by the 1st Air Defence Group (1º GDA) at Anápolis Air Force Base, where the Gripen is gradually becoming an increasingly visible part of Brazil’s frontline air defence posture. That operational transition is already underway. Since February, Gripen fighters have reportedly been carrying out Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions from Anápolis, helping to safeguard the airspace around Brazil’s federal government district.

The Gripen E has been developed as a modern multi-role fighter, capable of carrying out air defence, strike and reconnaissance missions. It is designed to operate in contested and information-rich environments, where survivability and decision-making speed are increasingly shaped by onboard systems as much as by traditional aircraft performance. Among its key attributes are modern avionics, advanced sensors, data-link capability and sensor-fusion architecture intended to improve pilot situational awareness and support faster tactical decision-making. Saab has consistently positioned the aircraft as a platform optimised for network-centric operations, allowing aircraft and supporting systems to share information more effectively across a mission environment.

For the Brazilian Air Force, the Gripen introduces a markedly more modern combat capability than the legacy aircraft it is intended to supplement and eventually replace. It also gives the service a platform that is likely to remain relevant as operational concepts continue to evolve. The significance for Brazil of the Gripen programme extends beyond the aircraft itself. It is also a test case for how a defence procurement programme can be used to build national industrial depth. That matters not just for military aviation, but for the wider aerospace ecosystem. Embraer remains one of the world’s most prominent aerospace manufacturers, with established activities in commercial, executive and defence aviation. Programmes such as Gripen help reinforce the company’s role not only as an aircraft producer, but as a strategic industrial partner in high-complexity aerospace work.

Brazil has become one of Saab's most important long-term international partnerships, with the country increasingly positioned as a regional industrial and support base. Whether that eventually develops into a wider export role remains to be seen, but the domestic production of the Gripen already illustrates the broader strategic value of the programme. The first Brazilian-assembled Gripen E does not mark the completion of the programme, but it does represent a clear turning point. What began as a fighter acquisition effort has now developed into a more substantial industrial undertaking with long-term implications for Brazil’s aerospace and defence sectors.

For the FAB, it is another step toward building out a more modern combat fleet. For Embraer and Saab, it is evidence that the partnership has moved well beyond paper agreements and into tangible industrial delivery. For Brazil’s aviation industry, it is a reminder that major defence programmes are often judged not only by the aircraft they deliver, but also by the capabilities they leave behind.