Saab has announced that it has signed a contract with Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the delivery of four Gripen E/F fighter aircraft to the Kingdom of Thailand, the company stated.
The deal, valued at approximately SEK 5.3 billion, covers three Gripen E and one Gripen F aircraft, along with associated equipment, support, and training. Deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2025 and 2030.
Saab confirmed that it has also signed a separate agreement with the Royal Thai Air Force to provide a long-term offset package. The company said this will include “significant transfer of defence technology and industrial cooperation with Thailand together with new investments across many sectors of the national economy.”
Micael Johansson, Saab’s President and CEO, welcomed the decision: “We welcome Thailand as the latest customer for Gripen E/F. Thailand is already a well-established Gripen user and familiar with the strengths that Gripen brings to the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Thailand has chosen the most modern fighter on the market with which to build its next generation of strategic, independent capabilities.”
Thailand already operates a squadron of Gripen C/D multi-role fighters. Saab noted that the new Gripen E/F aircraft will eventually serve alongside the existing fleet, enhancing the Royal Thai Air Force’s overall capability.
The Gripen E/F variant is the latest version of Saab’s multi-role fighter, incorporating updated avionics, sensors, and systems integration compared with earlier models, according to the company.
First export for the E model?
Post war, Ukraine would do very well to order a fleet of E/F Gripens to replace all its compbat aircraft, better than anything Russia operates, much cheaper to operate than the F16, designed for dispersed operations and genuinely multi role.
Brazil was first.
Quite right, how did I forget that…