Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) concerning the upgrade of the Gripen C/D system. The o...
Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) concerning the upgrade of the Gripen C/D system. The order is valued at approximately SEK 224 million (USD 25 million).
The order mainly involves improvements to and modifications of existing capabilities in the so-called MS20 upgrade, which was introduced across the Swedish Air Force Gripen fleet in 2016.
The ordered upgrades concern central capabilities such as target acquisition, self-protection, communication and human-machine interaction, as well as a number of key support and training systems.
The work will be carried out at Saab's facilities in Gothenburg, Järfälla, Linköping and Arboga.
“This is an important order to maintain and further develop the capabilities of Gripen C/D. It involves large parts of the Gripen C/D system," Jonas Hjelm, head of Saab business area Aeronautics.”
Deliveries will take place between 2018 and 2020.
The MS20 upgrade brings a number of improvements. The upgrade greatly enhances Gripen’s ability to engage ground targets by incorporating unguided and laser-guided bombs into the aircraft payload and the air-to-air capability is enhanced by introduction of new radar modes.
A key element of Gripen’s MS20 capability expansion is full integration of the MBDA Meteor BVRAAM (Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile).
Another key element will be the integration of the targeting electro-optical pod Litening III, which will be used not only for guiding missiles and bombs, but also in aerial reconnaissance and combat. The upgrade also implements the Alliance datalink - Link 16 - as well as cryptomodules for covert communication.
