GRIPEN E FIRST FLIGHT!
One for the record books. The Gripen E ( née "Gripen NG") can no longer bed accused as being a "paper aircraft". On June 15, Saab successfully flew its first JAS 39 Gripen E . The flight went off pretty much on time, with Saab promising a flight in the second quarter of 2017. Initial plans were to hold the test flight in late 2016 , but Saab chose to delay the flight due to self-imposed software requirements. Saab insists the aircraft is still on track for deliveries to begin in 2019. The upcoming years may indeed be the "perfect storm" for Gripen E sales success. Contemporaries like the Typhoon , Rafale , and Super Hornet have had middling sales success, but are not even close to representing a true sales rival to the F-35. Simply put, these fighters do not seem to offer enough of a cost and/or performance benefit to entice qualified buyers away from the still troubled JSF . But the Gripen E is different. Saab is p...