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25 November 2020

Innovative support solutions delivers 100% availability

2 min read

It is during crises and challenging times when promises and commitment really is put to test. For every air force it is important to keep their fleet of aircraft ready to be called for action and to safeguard their country, no matter if it is a pandemic or not.

The Royal Thai Air Force is operating eleven Gripen fighters based at Wing 7, Surat Thani in southern Thailand. Mid November, the RTAF had 100 percent availability on their Gripen fighters thanks to innovative support solutions of the Gripen system. This was proudly presented with a formation flight with nine aircraft flying and two on standby, taxing on the ground ready for Quick Reaction Alert.

High availability – minimal effort

The availability of the RTAF Gripen is a proof that despite the difficulty the pandemic causes, the Gripen project, including all involved has maintained their commitment to the RTAF. This has been extra challenging since it is practically impossible for Swedish support staff to be present in Thailand due to quarantine rules.

One of the innovative solutions we have used in this case is Remote Guidance which is possible thanks to technology within Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. In the Thailand case, Remote Guidance was used to conduct a 200 hour check of the RTAF Gripen fighters.

"Instead of sending our specialists to Thailand, an authorized technician in Linköping supported and guided the RTAF technicians to implement the check by using Remote Guidance. Both we and the RTAF was very pleased with the result since it gave 100 percent availability to their Gripen fleet," says Ellen Molin, senior vice president and head of business area Support and Services at Saab.

Gripen’s high availability is ensured by the support friendly system design with supportability in focus and inherent from the very beginning. The result is low maintenance requirements and extensive testability in any operational or support environments. No matter if it is done on site or remotely.

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