JAS39A
| This page is about the Swedish jet fighter JAS39A. For other versions, see SAAB 39 Gripen (Family). |
Contents
Description
The JAS39A Gripen is a Swedish multirole fighter that entered service in 1996 to replace the aging JA37D and AJS37 for the Swedish air force. The JAS39A is developed by SAAB and was designed to carry out tasks such as defending Swedish airspace, engaging with hostile ground targets, and reconnaissance missions.
The JAS39A was introduced in Update "Air Superiority" as top rank jet fighter for Sweden, able to fight toe to toe with MiG-29s and F-16s on more even terms than the preceding JA37D. The JAS39A can be equipped with different types of anti-air missiles for air engagements, but also does come with different bomb loadouts making it able to be used in a ground supporting role, giving it a multirole ability to engage a variety of enemies. The JAS39A handles differently than its predecessor JA37D, but will be more similar to the F-16 that some may be used to.
General info
Flight performance
Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at 11,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 2,175 | 2,138 | 14500 | 24.1 | 24.1 | 207.3 | 194.7 | 500 |
| Upgraded | 2,306 | 2,240 | 23.9 | 24.0 | 285.8 | 245.0 | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| X | X | X | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 1,543 | 620 | - | - | - | ~12 | ~5 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 519 | < 700 | < 1,543 | - |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | ||||
| Svenska Flygmotor RM12 | 1 | 6,865 kg | 307 kg/m2 | ||||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | |||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 9m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 32m fuel | ||
| 1,054 kg | Afterburning low-bypass turbofan | 7,567 kg | 8,308 kg | 9,032 kg | 9,205 kg | 13,906 kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP) | ||||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 9m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 32m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | 5,340 kgf | 8,050 kgf | 1.06 | 0.97 | 0.89 | 0.87 | 0.58 |
| Optimal | 5,340 kgf (0 km/h) |
9,100 kgf (1,000 km/h) |
1.20 | 1.10 | 1.01 | 0.99 | 0.65 |
Survivability and armour
Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) | Lead indicator |
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Offensive armament
The JAS39A is armed with:
- 1 x 27 mm Akan m/85 cannon, belly-mounted (120 rpg)
- 80 x large calibre countermeasures
Suspended armament
The JAS39A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 kg m/71 bombs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| 277 kg GBU-12 Paveway II bombs | 1† | 1† | 1† | 1† | |||||
| 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye bombs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 957 kg GBU-10 Paveway II bombs | 1† | 1† | |||||||
| 1,092 lb GBU-16 Paveway II bombs | 1† | 1† | 1† | 1† | |||||
| 2,000 lb GBU-24 Paveway III bombs | 1† | 1† | |||||||
| psrak m/70 rockets | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||||
| RB71 missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| RB 74 missiles | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 1* | 1 | |||
| RB 74(M) missiles | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 1* | 1 | |||
| RB 75 missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Countermeasures | 160* | 160* | 160* | 160* | |||||
| LITENING II targeting pod | 1† | ||||||||
| 1,100 l drop tanks | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,250 kg | |||||||||
| * Countermeasures can be equipped with RB 74 missiles on the same hardpoint † LITENING II pod must be equipped when equipping guided bombs | |||||||||
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
Usage in battles
Gripens needs to be played in one way which is very different from all the other top-tier jets. The JAS39A has an underwhelming radar-guided missile out of all its opponents, meaning it will not play ever in BVR engagements, since it will always end up losing. Instead, the Gripen shines in the furballs, where the chaos prevents anyone from being totally aware of its surroundings. There, it can use its two best assets: the RB 74(M) (a Swedish Version of the AIM-9M ) and the nearly-unlimited flares loadout the plane can carry. When approaching the danger zone, activate the automatic countermeasure release, set to cycle 1 sec with 0.5 sec between each release and 2 releases per cycle. You have about 4:30 minutes of pure adrenaline before you run out of flares (using flares and chaff should half the time, but sticking to the deck makes radar-guided missiles easily dodgeable). Now the player can pay less (not none) attention to their surroundings and focus on launching the RB 74(M) missiles. Do not focus too much on one target, lock on with radar so the missile won't go for the flares during the lock-on phase and prefer targets that are showing you their side: this way even if they flare the missile will be less likely to notice the flares at all. The Gripen is also a good dogfighter, use the air brake until you get into the 700-850 km/h, that way you will pull like a monster.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High speed; good acceleration gets you back in the fight after losing speed in turns or climbs
- Extreme manoeuvrability - currently possibly the most agile fighter in the game, outturns even F-16s!
- High amount of countermeasures available; a total of 720 when carrying four BOL rails on the wings
- Well balanced loadouts available, ranging from dumb bombs and rockets to F&F AGMs and laser guided bombs
- Helmet mounted sight lets the pilot slew both IR missile seekers as well as the radar onto off-bore targets
- Access to very competitive RB74(M) missiles which are highly resistant to flares
Cons:
- Prone to tear off wings at high speed; its high agility may result in over-G breaking the plane apart with reckless manoeuvring
- Mediocre radar missiles; very short range compared to the AIM-7Ms and R-27ERs carried by contemporaries
- Low ammo count for a relatively rapid firing cannon
- Canard-delta design combined with its tiny size means that any hit is likely to cause critical damage to your flight surfaces
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Swedish Aeroplane Company Ltd. (SAAB) | |
|---|---|
| Pre-SAAB: SA / ASJA | |
| SA 'Jaktfalken' | J6B |
| SAAB 17 | B17A · B17B · S17BS |
| SAAB 18 | B18A · B18B · T18B · T18B (57) |
| SAAB 21 | J21A-1 · J21A-2 · A21A-3 · J21RA · A21RB |
| SAAB 29 'Tunnan' | J29A · A29B · J29D · J29F |
| SAAB 32 'Lansen' | J32B · A32A · A32A Röd Adam |
| SAAB 35 'Draken' | J35A · J35D |
| SAAB 37 'Viggen' | JA37C · JA37D · JA37DI · JA37DI F21 · AJ37 · AJS37 |
| SAAB 39 'Gripen' | JAS39A · JAS39C |
| SAAB 105 | SK60B · SAAB-105G |
| License Production | B3C (Ju 86K) |
| Export | SAAB-105OE · J35XS · ▄JAS39C · ◔JAS39EBS HU C |
| Sweden jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | J21RA |
| J29A · A29B · J29D · J29F | |
| J32B | |
| J34 | |
| J35A · J35D | |
| JA37C · JA37D · JA37DI · JA37DI F21 | |
| JAS39A · JAS39C | |
| Strike aircraft | A21RB |
| A32A · A32A Röd Adam | |
| A28B | |
| AJ37 · AJS37 | |
| SK60B · SAAB-105G | |
| Export | SAAB-105OE |
| Finland | ▄Vampire FB 52A · ▄MiG-21bis · Saab J35XS |
