Saab has completed all flight tests necessary for military type certification (MTC) for the JAS 39E/F-39E Gripen E fighter in the air-to-air role. The approval will allow the air forces of both Brazil and Sweden to become official operators of the type, a status currently held exclusively by Saab. Further trials will be conducted to clear the aircraft for air-to-surface roles.
Among the most recent tests was the all-important demonstration of an end-to-end firing of the MBDA Meteor long-range air-to-air missile, which will be the Gripen E’s primary air defense weapon. Taking place around the end of May/early June, the firing was conducted at the Vidsel range in northern Sweden, and involved a launch from round 16,500 feet altitude against an aerial target. The launch aircraft was the second series production machine, 6002, which fired a Meteor round equipped with telemetry systems and a command destruction capability.
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