Six Brazilian F-39E fighters Gripen first left national airports to take part in multinational SALITRE 2026 maneuvers in Chile. For the Brazilian Air Force, this is the first abroad test of a fresh generation of machines, and for the Swedish Saab another proof that its plan is found in a coalition environment. Will Gripen's success in South America strengthen the position of the European arms manufacture in an increasingly crowded market?
Six Brazilian F-39E fighters Gripen first left national airports to take part in multinational SALITRE 2026 maneuvers in Chile. For the Brazilian Air Force, this is the first abroad test of a fresh generation of machines, and for the Swedish Saab another proof that its plan is found in a coalition environment. Will Gripen's success in South America strengthen the position of the European arms manufacture in an increasingly crowded market?
First flight out of the country
SALITRE 2026 maneuvers were held between 29 June and 11 July at Cerro Moreno Air Base under Antofagasta in northern Chile. The hosts invited aviation from six countries: Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay and the United States took part in the exercises alongside Brazil and Chile. About sixty machines were operated in the air, and more than 1 and a half 1000 soldiers were active in the full project. Brazil sent six F-39E fighters from the 1st Air defence Group, backed by the transport aircraft Embraer C-390. It was their first appearance outside their own territory since entering service in late 2022.
Examination in Coalition Heaven
The exercise scenarios were built around activities in high-intensity conflict conditions, conducted according to NATO training standards and under the joint command of the coalition. The Brazilian Gripens carried out air defence tasks, escorts, combat patrols and space sweeps, fighting both in and out of sight. According to reports, the aircraft made more than 50 flights and spent more than a 100 hours in the air, including flights to the site of maneuvers. All the machines active exceeded a full of 2 100 and 50 hours of raid.
Commander of the 1st Air Defence Group, Lieutenant Colonel Vítor Bombonato, pointed out the strength decisive present for the advantage in the air. As the officer pointed out, the situation awareness provided by Gripen E's systems and sensors allows you to merge a immense data stream and present it to the pilot in a simplified form, making it easier to make decisions.
Swedish plan with Brazilian pedigree
Brazil's way to its own jet fleet began in 2014 erstwhile Brasília ordered thirty-six machines in Saaba: twenty-eight single-seat F-39Es and 8 two-seat F-39Fs. The contract included 1 of the widest technology transfers in the past of combat aviation. Part of the production was moved to Embraera plant in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, where the first supersonic fighter built on Brazilian dirt was presented in the spring of that year. For Saab, this meant producing a combat aircraft outside Sweden for the first time since 1937.
However, the program does not run painlessly. Brazil has so far received eleven copies produced in the Swedish Linköping, and the transportation deadline has been postponed to 2032. Peter Dölling, Managing manager of Saab Brazil, presented device participation in Chilean maneuvers as the next phase of improvement of the program and evidence of advancement in aircraft deployment to service.
What export Gripen says about Europe
The importance of performing in Chile goes beyond Brazilian pride. Gripen, next to home Sweden, flies present in the colours of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand and South Africa, and Brazil has become its largest non-European recipient. all debut in a real, multinational environment becomes an argument in competition with the American F-35, French Rafale and European Eurofighter. For Stockholm, an independent aviation industry, despite the modest interior market, further procurement means maintaining competences and jobs.
The Brazilian example besides brings a broader lesson. Countries outside the Western alliances are more eager to get equipment that goes hand in hand with the transfer of cognition and the construction of local industry, not just after a finished import product. This is besides a well-known subject over the Vistula River, where, with each large arms deal, the question of the participation of national plants and technological sovereignty returns. Will European producers usage the world's increasing appetite for fighters to regain the ground lost to competition from across the ocean?
Source: Defence24
