The Quest for Relevant Air Power

316 │ Swedish Air Force
Courtesy Gripen International; photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga
The Gripen is a versatile weapons platform. For ground and maritime
strike missions, the Gripen can carry the indigenously designed Saab Bofors
Dynamics RBS 15F anti-ship missile and the ubiquitous AGM-65 Maverick
air-to-ground missile.
planned at the time. Hence, familiarisation with the AJS 37 platform
reduced conversion time on the Gripen. 196
In the second half of the 1990s, the JAS 39 Gripen was introduced
into operational service. The Gripen is the result of project
studies that began in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, alternatives
to a future Swedish aircraft design were considered. These included
the purchase of foreign aircraft such as the F-16 or F-18.
Yet in June 1982, the development of a Swedish multirole aircraft