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| Saab 37 Viggen | ||
|---|---|---|
| Description | ||
| Role | Strike, training, reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft | |
| Crew | 1 or 2 | |
| First Flight | 1967 | |
| Entered Service | 1972 | |
| Versions | AJ37, Sk37, SF37, SH37, JA37 | |
| Manufacturer | Saab-Scania | |
| Dimensions (AJ, Sk, Sf, SH versions) | ||
| Length | 53"5' | 16.3 m |
| Wingspan | 34"9' | 10.6 m |
| Height | ' " | |
| Wing area | ft² | m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | lbs | kg |
| Loaded | lbs | kg |
| Maximum takeoff | 35273 lbs | 16000 kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | AJ37/SH37: One RM8A Svenska Flygmotor/ Pratt & Whitney JT8D-22 | |
| Thrust | 14771-26014 lbs | 6700-11800 kg |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | Mach 2 | |
| Combat range (Max load) | 1240 miles | 2000 km |
| Ferry range (Min load) | miles | km |
| Service ceiling | 59060 ft | 18,000 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Thrust/Weight | N/kg | |
| Avionics | ||
| Avionics | ||
| Armament | ||
| Armament | 1 Oerlikon KCA 30mm cannon with 150 rounds; two BAE Skyflash or AIM-120 AMRAAM and up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder | |
The Saab Viggen (Thunderbolt¹) or Saab 37 is a Swedish fighter aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1990 to replace the Saab Draken.
The first studies aimed at developing a successor to the Draken were carried out between 1952 and 1957. Construction started in 1964, with a first prototype maiden flight in 1967. The aim was to produce a robust single-engined fighter with excellent STOL performance that could be operated from improvised facilities such as roads and highwayA highway is a major road within a city, or linking several cities together. It includes roads known as interstate highway, freeway, motorway and autobahn, where a full description varies by country. Generally, a highway is a road which has multiple laness in the event of nuclear attacks on major installations. Other requirements included supersonicAny speed over the speed of sound, which is approximately 343 m/s or 761 mph or 1,225 km/h at sea level, is said to be supersonic . Many modern fighter aircraft are supersonic. The Concorde was a supersonic passenger aircraft, but, since its final retirem ability at low level, Mach 2 performance at altitude, and the ability to make short landings at low angles of attack (to avoid damaging improvised runways).
To meet these design goals, Saab selected a radical canardIn aeronautics, canard ( French for duck) is a type of fixed-wing aircraft in which the tailplane is ahead of the main lifting surfaces, rather than behind them as in conventional aircraft. The earliest models, such as the Santos-Dumont 14-bis, were seen¹ configuration: a conventional delta wingThe delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. Its use in the so called "tailless delta", i. without the horizontal tailplane, was pioneered especially by Alexander Lippisch in Germany and Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky in the USSR prior to WWI with small, high-set canard wings. Canards have since become common in fighter aircraft, notably with the Eurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin- engine multi-role canard- delta fighter aircraft, very similar to the US- German Rockwell-MBB X-31 prototype and designed and built by a consortium of European nations formed in 1983. History The initial members were the and the IAI KfirThe IAI Kfir is an Israeli-built military aircraft based on the French Mirage 5. Following a French government embargo that prevented Dassault selling Israel the Mirages that they had already paid for, IAI produced an unlicenced copy of this aircraft as t.)
In the JA37 version, power is provided by a single Svenska Flygmotor RM8B turbofanTurbofan is a type of airplane engine which is evolved from the turbojet essentially by increasing the size of the first-stage compressor to the point where it acts as a ducted propeller (or fan) blowing air past the "core" of the engine. This type of eng - essentially a licence-built version of the same Pratt & Whitney JT8DThe Pratt & Whitney JT8D jet engine was introduced by Pratt & Whitney in February 1964 with the inaugural flight of the Boeing's 727. Today, the eight models that comprise the JT8D standard engine family cover the thrust range from 14,000 to 17,400 pounds that powered commercial airliners of the ' 60s like the DC-9 and the 727 but with an afterburner.
The first operational squadron was established in 1972 at Såtenäs with a ground attack optimised version. After 110 of the original AJ37 and 18 Sk37 two-seat trainers were delivered, 26 of the SF37 reconnaissance version to replace the S35 Draken in 1975, and another 26 of the SH37 maritime reconnaissance and strike version were built in 1974, replacing the S32C Saab Lansen.
Although the Viggen was offered for sale worldwide, and regarded as a very competent aircraft, no export sales eventuated. Reasons to explain Saab's failure to sell a competitively priced and well-respected aircraft include the Swedish government's relatively strict controls on arms exports to undemocratic countries, potential customers' doubts about continuity of support and supply of spare parts in the event of a conflict disapproved of by Sweden, and strong diplomatic pressure of larger nations (the United States in particular).
The final Viggen variant was the JA37 interceptor. The last of 149 JA37s was delivered in 1990. Various upgrades have been performed over the years, mainly to cockpit equipment, weapons and sensor fit, but the Viggen is now being phased out in favor of the advanced later generation Gripen.
¹ Viggen, or a "Vigg" is also a tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), which is found in Sweden. Coincidentally(?) "Canard" is French for duck.
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