SAAB Viggen & Draken PDF eBook + Aircraft Flight Manuals

General Characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 9 in)
• Wingspan: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
• Height: 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in)
• Wing area: 46 m² (500 ft²)
• Empty weight: 9,500 kg (21,000 lb)
• Loaded weight: AJ 16,000 kg; JA 17,000 kg (AJ 35,273 lb; JA 37,478 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 20,000 kg (44,000 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Volvo RM8B afterburning turbofan, 72.1 kN / 125.0 kN afterburning (16,200 lbf dry, 28,110 lbf afterburning)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.1, 2,231 km/h (1,386 mph) at 11,000 m (1,386 mph at 36,100 ft (11,003 m))
• Range: 2,000 km internal fuel only (1242 mi)
• Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,100 ft)
• Rate of climb: 203 m/s (12,200 m/min) (40,026 ft/min)

Armament

• 1x 30 mm Oerlikon KCA cannon with 150 rounds
• Six missile stations for two RB71 Skyflash (only JA37), four AIM-120 AMRAAM (JA 37D), or six AIM-9 Sidewinder or four 135 mm (5.4 in) rocket pods.
• U95 ECM pod (JA 37D)

Variants 

AJ 37
Primarily a single-seat ground-attack fighter aircraft (AJ: Attack-Jakt), with a secondary fighter role. RM8A powerplant. PS 37A radar. First delivery in mid-1971, 108 built, with serial numbers 37001-37108. 48 airframes upgraded to AJS 37. Partially decommissioned in 1998.

SK 37
Two-seat trainer aircraft (Sk: Skol) with no radar and reduced fuel. First flight on 2 July 1970. 17 built, with delivery from June 1972, serial numbers 37801-37817. Decommissioned in 2003, 10 airframes converted to SK 37E.

SF 37
Single-seat photographic reconnaissance aircraft (SF: Spaning Foto), with radar replaced by battery of cameras in nose, with provision for additional reconnaissance pods. It made its first flight on May 21, 1973. 28 built, with deliveries from April 1977, serial numbers 37950-37977. 25 airframes upgraded to AJSF 37. Partially decommissioned in 1998.

SH 37
(SH- Spaning Hav, recon sea) Single-seat maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft, equipped with PS-371A radar. 27 built, with delivery from June 1975, serial numbers 37901-37927. 25 airframes upgraded to AJSH 37. Partially decommissioned in 1998.

Saab 37E Eurofighter
Proposed NATO replacement of F-104 Starfighter in 1975, none built.

Saab 37X
Proposed export version offered to Norway in 1967–68, none built.

JA 37
Primarily a single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter, with a secondary attack role. Its first flight was on September 27, 1974 with the first deliveries starting in 1979, serial numbers 37301-37449. A 10 cm (4 in) stretch in the shape of a wedge wider at the bottom than on the top of AJ 37 fuselage between canard and main wing. PS 46A LD/SD radar. Partially decommissioned in 1998, some upgraded to JA 37D.

AJS/AJSF/AJSH 37
Upgrade of some AJ/SF/SH 37 between 1993 and 1998. Avionics and software upgrade. 48 AJ 37 airframes modified. 25 SH 37 airframes modified. 25 SF 37 airframes modified. Decommissioned in 2005.

JA 37C
Upgrade of older JA 37, avionics and software upgrade.

JA 37D
Upgrade of older JA 37 between 1993 and 1998, avionics and software upgrade. 35 airframes modified.

JA 37DI
JA 37D with avionics and software modified for international duties. Instruments labeled in English and feet/knots instead of meter/kmh. 20 airframes modified.

SK 37E
Electronic warfare trainer, conversion of 10 obsolete SK 37 trainers from 1998 to 2000, serial numbers 37807-37811 & 37813-37817, decommissioned in 2007.

On Display

• An AJS 37 Viggen (s/n 37098) with the code F 7–52 has been retained and went through a long period of restoration and maintenance to be airworthy again. This Viggen was built in 1977 and served all its active duty in F 15 Wing at Söderhamn. It was transferred into civil registry with the registration number SE-DXN. It undertook its maiden flight after having been approved by the authorities on 27 March 2012 from the F 7 Wing at Såtenäs. The Viggen is unpainted to represent the first delivered Viggens as they looked in the early 1970s.
• An SK 37E Viggen (s/n 37898) is preserved at the Musée de l’Air located at the former Paris–Le Bourget Airport in France.
• An JA 37 Viggen is preserved at Estonian Aviation Museum near Tartu, Estonia. The aircraft was obtained from Swedish Air Force Museum, and flew from Sweden to Tartu in 2004.
• A JSF 37 Viggen (s/n 37954) is on display of Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków.
• Two Viggens as well as the nose parts of some JA-37s can be found at the Aeroseum near Gothenburg. An AJ-37 (s/n 37094/57) and an AJSH-37 (s/n 37911/55).
• Two Viggens can be found at Söderhamn Aviation Museum at the former F 15 wing in Söderhamn, Sweden. One is an AJS 37 and the other is an SK 37 trainer aircraft.
• An AJ 37 Viggen is on display at the Västerås Aviation Museum in Västerås, Sweden.
• An AJS 37 Viggen is on display at the Swedish Airforce Museum in Linköping, Sweden.
• An AJSH 37 Viggen (s/n 373918) is on display at Newark Air Museum, Newark, Nottinghamshire, UK.
• The front section of an SF 37 Viggen is on display at the Swedish Aerial Reconnaissance Museum located at the old F 11 wing in Nyköping, Sweden.
• An JSF 37 Viggen is on display at Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely, Czech Republic. s/n 37957 c/n 56-21.
• An JSH 37 Viggen (s/n 37901) is on display at the Aviodrome museum at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands.
• An AJSF 37 Viggen (s/n 374974) is on display at the Flugausstellung Hermeskeil museum in Hermeskeil, Germany.

Cutaway

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)
• Wing area: 49.20 m² (529.6 ft²)
• Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,340 lb)
• Loaded weight: 11,000 kg (24,250 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 16,000 kg (35,273 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Volvo Flygmotor RM6C afterburning turbojet
  • Dry thrust: 56.5 kN (12,787 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 78.4 kN (17,637 lbf)

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.0 (1990s improvements)
• Range: 2,750 km (1,709 mi) with external drop tanks
• Service ceiling: 20,000 m (65,600 ft)
• Rate of climb: 250 m/s (49,200 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.70
• Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,623 ft)

Armament

• Guns: 1× or 2× 30 mm M-55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun (in Saab 35F one cannon was omitted to fit avionics needed for Falcon missile integration, earlier variants and export variants retained twin guns.)
• Hardpoints: for fuel tanks or ordnance with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb) and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Rockets: 2× 75 mm air-to-ground rocket pods ventrally or 12× 135 mm rockets on six underwing pylon
  • Missiles: Rb 24, Rb 27 and Rb 28 air-to-air missile
  • Bombs: The Danish export version, (F-35), was modified according to NATO standards and was fitted with 1,000lb bomb hardpoints

Variants

Proof of concept

Saab 210 Draken
Also known as Lilldraken, a scaled-down, “proof of concept” experimental aircraft to evaluate the double-delta wing configuration, not specifically a Draken variant but included here for sequence purposes.

Full-size Drakens

J 35A
Fighter version, total production 90 including prototypes. The J 35As were delivered between 1959 and 1961. The tail section was lengthened after the 66th aircraft to house a new afterburner for additional thrust, the longer tail cone unexpectedly reduced drag. This forced the installation of a retractable tail-wheel. The two versions were nicknamed Adam kort (Adam short) and Adam lång (Adam long). The Adam was fitted with a French Cyrano Radar (Swedish designation PS-02) (same as on the Mirage III) as the Swedish radar hadn’t been developed in time.

J 35B
Fighter version, built and delivered between 1962 and 1963, total production 73. This variant had improved radar and gun sights, and was also fully integrated into the Swedish STRIL 60 system; a combat guidance and air surveillance system. Fitted with a Swedish built radar PS-03.

SK 35C
25 J 35As with short tail sections rebuilt into a twin-seated trainer version. The minor modification meant that the aircraft could easily be converted back to a J 35A standard if necessary. The trainer version lacked armament.

J 35D
Fighter version, delivered between 1963 and 1964, total production 120. The aircraft had a new and more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon 300 (RM6C), which could deliver 77.3 kN thrust when using its afterburner. This was also the fastest Draken version, capable of accelerating until out of fuel. It was also the last Draken to carry two cannons. Fitted with the PS-03 radar.

S 35E
Reconnaissance version, total production 60 with 32 built from scratch and the remainder converted from the J 35D model. The armament and radar was removed and several cameras (of ortho and oblique types) fitted. The aircraft was unarmed to make room for the nine cameras of Vinten design (five in the nose and four in the fuselage) but was fitted with a countermeasure system to increase its survivability. It also carried an active infrared reconnaissance system of EG&G design in a pod fitted to a hardpoint.

J 35F
Fighter version, delivered between 1965 and 1972, total production: 230. This variant had improved electronics and avionics, e.g. integrated radar, aim and missile systems. The aircraft’s main armament were IR and SARH versions of the Hughes Falcon missile originally intended for the J 35D, but one of the cannon was removed to make space for more avionics. The J 35F2was a J 35F, produced with a Hughes N71 Infra-red search and track sensor. This was a change in the production line from the no. 35501 airframe. The Hawé mods I & II where carried out on the P/S-01/011 radar sets in the early 1980s to improve resistance to ECM.

J 35J
In 1985 the Swedish government decided to modify 54 J 35F2s to the J 35J standard. In 1987, 12 more modifications were ordered: between 1987 and 1991, the aircraft received a longer lifespan, modernized electronics and cannon, additional two Sidewinder (AIM-9P) pylons under the air intakes and increased external fuel capacity. The final operational J 35J flew for the last time in 1999.

Saab 35H
Proposed export version for the Swiss Air Force; none sold or delivered.

Saab 35XD
51 Danish export versions: F-35 single-seat strike aircraft, TF-35 two-seat trainer and RF-35reconnaissance aircraft. The type was heavily modified to make it into a strike aircraft; compared to the Swedish versions the outer wings where completely redesigned, and the radar was missing. These aircraft could carry heavy bombs as well as Bullpup missiles; during the WDNS upgrade of the 1980s they received the ALQ-162 jammer, a Marconi 900 Series HUD and a Ferranti LRMTS (laser rangefinder and marked target seeker)

Saab 35XS
12 fighter version units for the Finnish Air Force; built by Saab and assembled under licence by Valmet in Finland. The “S” stood for “Suomi” (Finland).

Saab 35BS
Used J 35Bs sold to Finland.

Saab 35FS
Used J 35F1s sold to Finland.

Saab 35CS
Used SK 35Cs sold to Finland.

Saab 35Ö
In the mid-1980s, Saab re-purchased 24 J 35D aircraft from the Swedish Air Force and converted them into the J 35Ö version (also called J 35OE in English literature) for export to Austria. Austria bought AIM-9P5 all aspect Sidewinders for these aircraft during the war in former Yugoslavia.

Proposed modifications

Before it was decided to develop the JAS 39 Gripen in the 1970s, studies where undertaken on modification for low flight hour J 35F airframes.

35 MOD Level 4
The most ambitious modification in the program. The proposed modifications were new outer wing, additional weapon stations, RBS 15 capability, the addition of canards by the air intakes for increased maneuverability and maximum take-off weight increased to 15 000 kg.

35 MOD Level 1b
Essentially the aircraft that became the J 35J.

The total number of Drakens produced and delivered was 644.

On Display

Cutaway