of negotiating a ten-year lease contract for
12 Gripens, with an option to purchase the
aircraft at the end of the lease period.
As part of the procurement, Saab offered
an offset deal valued at 110% of the cost
of the fighters. Initially, Hungary had
planned to lease several Batch 2 aircraft,
however there were misgivings over their
inability to conduct air-to-air refuelling
and limits on weapons compatibility.
The contract was renegotiated and when it
was signed on February 2, 2003 it included
14 Gripens (including a pair of two-seaters),upgraded from JAS 39A/B standard to the
NATO-compatible JAS 39C/D standard. Final
deliveries took place in December 2007.
As of 2011 the HUNAF operated the Gripens
under lease, but it was reported that the
country intended to purchase them outright.
However, in January 2012, the Hungarian
and Swedish governments agreed to extend
the lease period for a further ten years;
according to the then Hungarian defence
minister Csaba Hende, the agreement
represented considerable cost savings.
On May 9, 2015, JAS 39D serial 42 overran
This Gripen load-out
comprises three external
1,275-lit drop tanks, plus
the Litening targeting pod.the runway while landing at Čáslav air base
in the Czech Republic. Both crewmen –
Brig Gen Csaba Ugrik and Maj Gergely Grof- ejected safely. The aircraft was heavily
damaged and the nose section separated.
On June 10 of the same year, JAS 39C
serial 30 performed a belly landing at
Kecskemét. The pilot, Maj Sándor Kádár,
ejected but suffered spinal injuries.
A replacement contract for the two-seater
(supplied in July 2016) and repairs to the
single-seater (completed in December
- returned the fleet to full strength.
“The Gripen is capable of doing a very decent
job in each of its roles,” Maj Molnar continued.
“Even in reconnaissance, as demonstrated by
Operation Unified Protector [over Libya in 2011].
The Swedish Air Force’s Gripens provided
a major portion of the total reconnaissance
requirements. Hungarian Air Force Gripens
mainly perform air-to-air missions. Our task
is to provide sovereignty of Hungarian as
well as Slovenian airspace as part of NATO’s
collective defences. However, the aircraft is
also very capable if we have to provide support
to ground troops, which is our secondary task.
“The Gripen is quite easy to handle. The
triplex digital fly-by-wire flight control
system offers an optimum combination of
manoeuvrability, acceleration and short-field
performance. The Gripen’s sensor fusion
gives the pilot a high degree of situational
awareness and options for fighting either
in air-to-air or air-to-ground roles.”AFM
Hungarian Gripens at TLP
54 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com