The Gripen E is a Swedish fighter with an American heart. Its engine is a General Electric F414, the same family that powers the Super Hornet. On 8 October 2026, Saab and GKN Aerospace signed an agreement that gives Sweden a bigger hand in looking after that heart.

The cooperation agreement, announced from Linköping, lays the foundation for GKN to take a progressively larger role in engine and propulsion work for the Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F. It follows a recent decision by the Swedish government to strengthen national capability and knowledge around the engine, and it tasks the two companies with making that happen.

An American Engine, a Swedish Workshop

Every Gripen has flown on an engine derived from a General Electric design. The Gripen C/D uses the Volvo RM12, a version of the GE F404 that was built in Sweden by Volvo Aero, the company that is now GKN Aerospace's Swedish arm. 254 RM12s were produced, the last in 2011, and GKN still holds the type certificate for the engine.

The Gripen E/F moved to the bigger F414G, which gives about 20 per cent more thrust than the RM12. In Swedish service it is called the RM16. Unlike the RM12, it is not a Swedish-built engine, and that is the gap the new agreement is meant to narrow.

GKN has been building Swedish support capability for the RM16 at its Trollhättan site for several years, and it ran the first RM16 in its test facility there in 2022, according to the company. Under the new agreement, its role grows from maintenance and technical support into a broader partnership on everything engine-related for the Gripen E/F. Defence Industry Europe reports that GKN becomes Saab's preferred provider of engine services for the aircraft.

Why Sovereignty Over the Engine Matters

An engine is the part of a fighter that a country can least easily replace. Whoever controls its parts, its software and its overhaul controls how long the aircraft keeps flying. For a nation like Sweden, which builds its own fighters to stay independent, having deep engine knowledge at home is a matter of security, not just industry.

It also matters for export. Saab is selling the Gripen E/F abroad, with orders from Brazil, Thailand and Colombia, and the companies say GKN will support Saab's international Gripen campaigns. Brazil has just flown the first Gripen E built outside Sweden, so the support network behind the engine is about to get busier.

Neither company disclosed the value of the agreement, how the work will be split, or a timeline for moving technical activities to GKN. The Swedish Air Force is the first customer for whatever capability results.

The Rolls-Royce Question

The engine has been a talking point for a while. Claims that the Gripen could get a Rolls-Royce engine have circulated online for months, and the aircraft’s dependence on an American engine is a recurring question in export debates. Today's agreement does not change the engine: the Gripen E/F still flies on the F414. What it changes is how much of the know-how sits in Sweden.

The Baltic Defence Review video below looks at the debate over whether the Gripen could get a Rolls-Royce engine.

Sources: Saab, Defence Industry Europe, Joint Forces News, The Defense Watch, aeroTELEGRAPH, Wikipedia