Brazil unveils first supersonic fighter jet assembled in country

2026-03-25 - 17:01

Brazil became the first Latin American nation to build a ​supersonic fighter jet on Wednesday when it ‌unveiled the first Gripen plane assembled in the country. Brazil first signed the contract for Saab’s Gripen in 2014, choosing ​it over Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet and ​the Rafale, made by France’s Dassault, to replace ⁠its aging fleet of fighter jets. The country ​joins Western powers such as the United States and ​France, as well as major developing economies including Russia, India and China, in building a supersonic fighter jet. Read Also: Dinosaur fossils in Brazil reveal new giant species Its deal with ​Swedish defence group Saab included the production ​of 15 of the 36 jets under contract at Brazilian planemaker ‌Embraer’s ⁠Gaviao Peixoto plant in Sao Paulo state under a technology transfer agreement. Saab said it expects to use the Brazilian production line as an export ​hub, a prospect ​bolstered by ⁠an agreement last year for neighboring Colombia to acquire Gripen fighters. “This is the ​first time since 1937, when Saab was ​founded, ⁠that a fighter aircraft is manufactured outside Sweden,” said Saab CEO Micael Johansson. The Gripen production line underscores ⁠Brazil’s ​growing ambitions in military aviation, ​with Embraer’s C-390 Millennium cargo jet gaining traction among European buyers.