According to foreign media reports, Sweden's new jas-39e Gripen fighter was officially delivered in mass production recently. Among them, two are equipped with the Swedish Air Force, and the other four belong to the Brazilian Air Force sequence. As the latest model of "Eagle lion" series fighter, jas-39e fighter is of great significance to Swedish air defense construction. Jas-39e Gripen fighter equipped by the Swedish Air Force "Benchmarking" mainstream fighters In the late 1970s, the US Soviet struggle for hegemony intensified. NATO and Warsaw Pact fighters entered Swedish airspace from time to time, forcing Swedish Air Force fighters to take off and intercept frequently. At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union had been equipped with third-generation fighters, which put pressure on the Swedish Air Force intercepted by second-generation aircraft. Therefore, the Swedish Air Force began to seek land defense fighters that can "benchmark" advanced models such as F-15 / 16 and Su-27. At the same time, it has the advantage of air control and can effectively drive away foreign aircraft. As Sweden is only 200 kilometers away from the Soviet Union and closer to NATO countries, it means that a light fighter can meet the demand. According to the actual needs of the Swedish Air Force, Saab began to develop the Gripen fighter according to the design requirements of "one aircraft with multiple functions". The prototype successfully made its first flight in 1988 and the mass production model was equipped with the Swedish Air Force in 1996. This type of fighter is named "jas-39", and the English letter indicates that it has the capabilities of air combat, ground attack and air reconnaissance. Subsequently, Saab launched its improved jas-39c / D fighter to further improve the overall performance of the fighter. Since the 21st century, in order to meet the needs of the international market, Saab has put forward the "next generation Eagle lion" plan, which aims to build a universal air combat platform, which can be equipped with different loads according to different needs. At the 2007 Paris air show, Saab announced the design scheme of the "next generation Gripen" and announced that it would comprehensively upgrade the fighter from the aspects of avionics, radar, power and structure. In May 2008, it was verified that the first flight was successful. From 2013 to 2014, with the Swedish and Brazilian air forces successively signing procurement contracts with Saab, the R & D speed of jas-39e fighter was further accelerated. Combat performance is not low As a multi-purpose single engine light fighter, jas-39 Eagle lion series fighter has emphasized excellent maneuverability since its design. To this end, the series of fighters adopt close coupled canard wing and delta wing aerodynamic layout, and the fuselage is small. The fuselage of the early model is 14.1m long, 8.4m wingspan and 4.5m high. The fuselage is made of a large number of composite materials, with an empty weight of 6.7t and a maximum take-off weight of 14T. It can carry multiple air-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-ship missiles and bombs. It can also be externally attached with electronic jamming pods and other equipment, with strong fire performance. In addition, this series of fighters also have short-range and highway takeoff and landing capabilities, and can realize supersonic flight at all altitudes. Therefore, some foreign military experts say that jas-39 Eagle lion series fighters are one of the best non stealth fighters in the world. The jas-39e fighter delivered to the Swedish Air Force and the Brazilian air force is upgraded from the previous model, and the overall performance is close to the standard of a medium-sized fighter. Among them, after the fuselage structure adjustment, the overall size becomes larger, the maximum takeoff weight increases to 16.5 tons, and the fuel load also increases by about 40%. The position of the main landing gear is changed from under the belly to under the wing root, and two external hanging points are added in the free space, so that the number of external hanging points of the aircraft is increased to 10. In terms of power system, jas-39e fighter was replaced with f414g turbofan engine used by U.S. f / A-18E / F "Super Hornet" fighter, and the thrust was increased by more than 20%. The aircraft has a maximum flight speed of Mach 2 and supersonic cruise capability. In terms of radar avionics, the nose of jas-39e fighter is equipped with es-05 "crow" active phased array airborne radar developed by SELEX company of Italy. This type of radar adopts the "swashplate" design, which increases the action range of the antenna, solves the problem of narrow field of view of the traditional phased array radar, and can provide pilots with a wider range of situational awareness. Skyward-g infrared passive sensing system is installed in front of the cockpit windshield, which can track multiple targets in complex electromagnetic environment, improve the detection performance and reliability of the fighter, and have certain anti stealth ability. In addition, jas-39e fighter is also equipped with a new missile warning system and IFF system. Best selling international market In the international market, light fighters have always had difficulties in export, but jas-39 "Eagle lion" series fighters are an exception. The early "Eagle lion" series fighter has the advantages of small volume, low cost, simple maintenance and strong combat ability. It is a land air defense fighter with high quality and low price, and has successfully entered the international market. At the same time, Saab's open attitude towards cooperative R & D has also attracted the interest of more international buyers. In October 2014, the Brazilian Air Force signed a contract with Saab to jointly develop and produce 36 jas-39e / F fighters. In addition, the Swedes also adopted the marketing model of "combination of purchase and rent" to further expand the scope of use of jas-39 "Eagle lion" series fighters. At present, in addition to more than 200 equipped by the Swedish Air Force, jas-39 "Eagle lion" series fighters are still in service in the air forces of South Africa, Thailand and other countries, with a total scale of more than 100. They are the best-selling models in the light fighter market. Jas-39 Eagle lion, as a light fighter, is not perfect. It has obvious limitations in range, bomb carrying capacity and so on. In addition, because the nose diameter is small, the airborne radar aperture is limited, and the detection performance is restricted, resulting in the insufficient ability of the aircraft to perform medium and long-range interception tasks. In addition, this type of fighter does not have stealth performance, and has obvious disadvantages in the face of stealth fighter and over the horizon long-range precision attack. Nevertheless, for small and medium-sized countries with limited budget, this fighter can meet the basic needs of land air defense and is still an ideal fighter. (outlook new era)