Lula participates in the inauguration of the Gripen fighter line – 09/05/2023 – Politics

Aircraft that will be ready for use in combat and interception missions next year, the Saab F-39 Gripen, a new FAB (Brazilian Air Force) fighter, had its production line inaugurated this Tuesday (9) at the Embraer in Gavião Peixoto (306 km from São Paulo) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who did not speak.

To an audience made up of politicians from the region, military personnel and representatives of the Brazilian and Swedish governments, it was up to the Minister of Defense, José Múcio, to speak on behalf of Lula and say that Brazil will, from now on, be a hub in the production fighter jets to other countries.

Air Brigadier Lieutenant Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, commander of the FAB, also stated that from now on the country becomes a hub for the production of supersonic fighter jets and said, after the event, that the country’s next steps will possibly be to buy more aircraft. still in the first batch. He also said that the country will need a second future purchase.

Lula and his entourage arrived in Gavião Peixoto at 11 am and visited the Gripen production line.

15 units will be made in Brazil, with the first deliveries expected to leave the production line in 2025, in a story that began in December 2013, when Brazil chose the Gripen as its preferred fighter model.

According to Saab, possible new orders from the FAB and purchases made by Latin American countries should also be assembled in Gavião Peixoto.

Múcio said that the fighter will be essential for Brazil’s defense and that the transfer of cutting-edge technology allowed for the inauguration of the production line on national soil.

Although the inauguration took place on Tuesday, work on the line began on the 24th.

CEO of Embraer Defense and Security, Bosco da Costa Júnior said that the inauguration is a milestone in the country’s aviation history, which becomes a hub for the production of fighter jets for other countries on the continent.

The information that the Gripen will be ready for use in combat missions in 2024, when it will participate in its first military exercise, is from the commander of the GDA (Air Defense Group), based in Anápolis (GO), which concentrates the fleet of 36 fighters ordered by Brazil in 2014.

The fighters began to be delivered operationally in December. So far, there are four planes flying, in addition to the first example sent to Brazil by the Swedish Saab to finalize the military certification campaign.