Skip to content Go to main navigation Go to language selector

Gripen jet fighters from the Hungarian Air Force.

2 June 2021

HunAF Welcomes Two New Gripen Pilots

2 min read

The Hungarian Air Force (HunAF) recently released a video welcoming two new Gripen demo pilots at the Puma squadron.

The Hungaran Ministry of Defence signed a lease contract for 14 Gripen C/D fighters with the Swedish Defence M,aterial Administration (FMV) in 2001. Hungary was the third Gripen operator besides Sweden and the Czech Republic. The contract was renewed again in 2012 wherein the fleet was upgraded to the MS20 version with a whole series of software and hardware enhancements. With the upgrade, the HunAF Gripens were integrated with the small GBU-39 SDB bombs and enhanced Link 16 data transmission system among other things.

The training of the first Hungarian Gripen pilots was conducted in 2015, and the first five Gripen fighters were formally presented to Hungary in March 2006. During the last 15 years, the Hungarian Air Force Gripen fleet has been successfully guarding the country's airspace and participated in several NATO missions as well. So far, Gripen pilots from the Puma Squadron have flown more than 24,000 hours in the air.

A Gripen demonstration pilot is usually responsible for carrying out Gripen aerial displays, and testing new features and functionalities. The two new Puma Squadron pilots will start participating in exercises from August this year.

More stories about:

Gripen blog

Gripen duriing a dispersed airbase exercise.

Deploy. Survive. Win.

The Gripen fighter system exists to guarantee air superiority in time of war. Sweden’s operational requirements for Gripen were driven by a superpower threat of all-out conflict across air, land and sea. This simple statement hides the highest possible objective; national survival. The result was a fighter from Saab that is threat-driven at every point in its design, and utterly unique.

7 Feb 2024 / By Jörgen Ericsson

Behind the scenes of a Gripen air-to-air photo-shoot

Executing a successful air-to-air photo-shoot requires quite a lot of planning and a bit of luck with the weather. At Saab Aeronautics communications department we made a formal request to the Swedish Air force to use one of their C-130 Hercules and a Gripen C aircraft to be able to shoot footage of the Gripen C and Gripen E flying together.

Brazilian Gripen E conducts IRST tests in simulated aerial combat

The Brazilian Gripen E aircraft with registration FAB 4100, dedicated to tests in Brazil, took part in a flight test campaign in Anápolis (GO) to assess the Infrared Search and Track (IRST), a passive long-range target detection sensor.

The Brazilian Air Force receives another Gripen E.

The fighter jet, with registration FAB 4107, landed at Anápolis Air Base (BAAN) on Friday morning, December 15.

Hungarian Gripen exercised in field conditions

The Adaptive Hussars 2023 exercise of the Hungarian Defence Forces brought pilots, technicians and equipment of the MH Szentgyörgyi Dezső 101st Aviation to the Lake Balaton area. Here, at Sármellék, a former air base used by Soviet Air Force for more than 33 years ago, acted as the new environment for five Hungarian Gripen fighters and its personell.

Gripen fighters at NATO Tiger Meet 2023

Gripen fighters from the two NATO countries Hungary and Czech Republic participated as usual. Both countries have a long story of participation in NATO led exercises and air policing assignments with their Gripens and NATO Tiger Meet is not an exception.

Saab concludes production of the first rear fuselage of the Gripen fighter in Brazil

The structure, produced in São Bernardo do Campo, is part of the first batch of locally manufactured aerostructures set to be transported to Gavião Peixoto, where the final assembly line is situated.

Decisive combat effectiveness – unique lethality of Gripen E

As a first, the objective of your fighter system - and the men and women who operate it – is to maintain the control and integrity of your sovereign territory. To do this, the fighter needs to successfully enter and to remain alive in a highly contested, presumably hostile high threat environment, complete the tasked mission, and safely return to base.

Unique tests of the oxygen and anti-g system enables testing of Gripen F in extreme conditions

The development of Gripen F is currently in full swing at various locations, both in Sweden and Brazil. In the Life Support rig, installed in a unique high-altitude chamber at Saab in Linköping, the aircraft's systems are pushed to their limits. Everything to deliver the safest possible aircraft to the customer.

Controlling the Electromagnetic spectrum - creating air dominance

Electronic Warfare (EW) commonly refers to military action involving use of Electro-Magnetic (EM) and Directed Energy (DE) effectors. Over decades, modern EW has grown leaps and bounds from the days of simple jamming of radars and radio communication systems.