How Gripen Pioneered the Concept of Dispersed Operations

In the sweeping Gagan Shakti pan-India air exercise, the Indian Air Force tested its dispersed operations capabilities with an array of 1,150 fighter aircraft, helicopters, and drones. The strategy was razor-sharp: Disperse, Absorb, Recoup, and Retaliate. Spanning both the eastern and western fronts, this war game concept underscored the Indian Air Force’s adaptability to operate from diverse locations.

As former Air Chief Dhanoa explains the essence of this capability: even if Chabua, Tezpur, Leh, and Adampur air bases are down, the dispersed aircraft can operate from other bases like Bareilly, Dimapur, Kanpur and Gorakhpur and a dozen other airfields.

The Indian Air Force needs easy take-off and landing capabilities, especially in diverse terrains like mountains and rugged areas with compact helipads. Gripen E aircraft delivers this capability with the ability to take off and land from narrow roads as small as 16 metres wide and as short as 800 metres in length. Besides Gagan Shakti, other exercises have also focused on improving dispersed operations in the country. In October 2017, the Air Force conducted mock landings on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway to create alternate landing options during emergencies.

For Gripen, dispersed operations have been a norm since its inception. During the Cold War, the Swedish Air Force (SwAF) realised a clear need for a fighter that could be operated from multiple locations. In fact, during the Cold War, the SwAF devised a tactic to disperse fighters throughout the country, making it difficult and costly for the enemy to make surprise attacks. They called it the Bas 90 system. So, in 1982, when Saab was contracted by the Swedish government to build Gripen, emphasis was placed on the ability to operate by design out of dispersed airbases, including regular roads.

With Viggen, Gripen's predecessor, Saab had used a thrust reverser to slow down and halt the aircraft. With Gripen, they focused on the canards and the wheel brakes, the combination of which creates an aerodynamic downforce to help the fighter stop quickly after landing. Not just that, Gripen was also designed to use its own power to flight line positions for maintenance, refuelling, and re-arming, and even to take a U-turn on the road if needed.

Gripen E can take off from small, unswept strips of roads without any tailhook or brake chute. If an airstrip is bombed or damaged, this capability allows the Swedish fighter to fly from highways, taxiways and small civil airfields. At any point during a mission, Gripen can land at a different site, be inspected, refuelled, re-armed and turned around in less than 15 minutes using minimal Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and teams comprising one technician and five trained conscripts. Another impressive capability is that Gripen E engine can be changed in the field within 1 hour using the same GSE and three personnel.

"Having dispersed operations capability gives you an edge. Even if your opponent has destroyed your air base or runway, it doesn't mean they have stopped you from operating. You can still disperse strategically across your territory and be ready for a counterattack," says Kent-Åke Molin, Sales and Marketing Director at Saab.

With Gripen's dispersed operations capabilities, an air force has the option to strategically disperse its fighters and compound its strength. 
"While some air forces may showcase their capabilities by landing a few times on short runways after extensive preparations, it's quite a different thing to consistently operate dispersedly and maintain high availability in a high-tempo, attritional warfare scenario. This demands continuous repositioning over extended periods, requiring a different level of readiness and adaptability," Kent-Åke says.

"Other contemporary fighters are being adapted for dispersed operations. But that usually means extensive maintenance, repair and overhaul with additional complex support systems needing extra specialist equipment/facilities, personnel and activities – such as stealth coating repairs, software patches and engine overhaul – and, along with strict runway sweeping requirements that need to be completed in order to make remote operations happen. It takes days, and they still need a long and wide runway," he adds.

Clearly, dispersed capability is not an afterthought but a foundational principle. It must be meticulously integrated into every aspect of design, ensuring exceptional reliability and robustness from the outset. High standards of maintainability, characterised by ease and speed of maintenance, are essential, all without relying on fixed installations. This approach minimises logistical burdens such as manpower, ground support equipment, spare parts, fuel, and the need for extensive runways.