According to Saab, a focus on realistic requirements has helped the Swedish industry and government teams integrate weapons on the Gripen faster and at lower cost than similar efforts elsewhere.
In an Aviation Week report, Bill Sweetman talks about the weapons from outside that have been successfully integrated with Gripen so far in a cost effective way.
According to Gideon Singer, technical director for Gripen exports and Lisa Abom, head of the Saab project office for engineering and weapons, Saab devotes 14% of integration costs to planning and coordination.
“One lesson is to reach early agreement,” they said. This means defining and clearly interpreting requirements, limitations and the approach to testing.
This year in June, Saab conducted its first test firing of the version of the Meteor radar-controlled air-to-air missile, developed for mass production. The test firing demonstrated the separation from the aircraft and the link function between the aircraft and missile, as well as the missile's ability to lock in on the target. The test firing was also used to verify the command support that has been developed for the pilot.
Sweden will be the first air force to field the new missile, with the Gripen MS 20 package in 2015. That upgrade will also include the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, the report says.