Saab JAS 39C/D Gripen
The NATO-compatible Gripen with air-to-air refuelling — the version that took the type to Europe, Africa and Asia · First flight 2002 · In service 2002
Sweden ordered a third batch of 64 Gripens in June 1997 — 50 single-seat JAS 39Cs and 14 two-seat 39Ds — built to a NATO-compatible standard aimed at export as well as Swedish service. The C/D added a retractable in-flight refuelling probe on the right side of the nose, an on-board oxygen-generating system and updated avionics. The first 39C flew on 14 August 2002 and was delivered in September 2002; the first export-standard 39D flew on 2 June 2004. Later upgrades added the Meteor and IRIS-T missiles.
Central Europe became the first export market. The Czech Republic leased 14 aircraft (12 C and 2 D), receiving its first six at Čáslav on 18 April 2005; the lease has since been extended to 2035. Hungary leased 14 Gripens, the first five reaching Kecskemét in March 2006, and ordered four more Gripen Cs in 2024.
South Africa ordered 26 (17 C and 9 D), with the first delivered on 30 April 2008, and Thailand bought 12 in two orders in 2008 and 2010. Many Swedish C/Ds are rebuilt from earlier A/B airframes.
