On March 25, a Gripen E fighter jet — designation F-39E, serial FAB 4109 — rolled out of Embraer’s facility in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo state. It looks identical to every other Gripen E. But this one was built in Brazil, not Sweden. And that changes everything. Brazil just became the first country in Latin America to assemble a modern supersonic combat aircraft on its own soil. Only a handful of nations on Earth can say the same.

First Time Since 1937

Saab has been building fighter jets in Sweden since the company was founded 89 years ago. Until now, every single one rolled off a Swedish production line. “This is the first time since 1937, when Saab was founded, that a fighter aircraft is manufactured outside Sweden,” said Micael Johansson, Saab’s President and CEO. “It symbolises the strength of a partnership built on trust, long-term vision, and true cooperation.” The rollout was not a quiet industrial event. President Lula da Silva attended alongside Defense Minister José Múcio Monteiro Filho and Swedish Ambassador Karin Wallensten. The Brazilian Air Force’s commander, Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, called the milestone “the real expression of a ‘Supersonic Brazil.’” The aircraft took roughly two years and ten months to build from the start of structural production. Its aerostructures were manufactured at Saab’s facility in São Bernardo do Campo before final assembly at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto plant.

A Club With Very Few Members

Building a modern fighter jet — even under license — requires an industrial ecosystem that most countries simply do not have. Precision metalwork, avionics integration, flight control software, engine handling, weapons systems testing. The list is long and unforgiving. The nations capable of producing 4th-generation-or-better fighters domestically can be counted on two hands: the United States, Russia, France, China, Sweden, India, South Korea, and now Brazil. Turkey’s TF Kaan is approaching that threshold. Japan collaborates on the GCAP program. Everyone else buys off the shelf. Brazil’s route is different from South Korea’s KF-21, which is a fully indigenous design. The F-39E is a Swedish aircraft built under a comprehensive technology transfer agreement. But the distinction matters less than the result: Brazilian engineers, Brazilian workers, Brazilian factories producing a supersonic combat jet that can exceed Mach 2 and perform air-to-air combat, ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions. Francisco Gomes Neto, Embraer’s CEO, was blunt about where this leads: “Our Gavião Peixoto plant is fully prepared to manufacture new Gripens for other countries.”

"Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war."

— Giulio Douhet, The Command of the Air

The Export Angle

That last quote is not just corporate optimism. Colombia signed a $3.6 billion deal for 17 Gripens — 15 E-models and 2 F trainers — with deliveries running from 2026 to 2032. Colombian President Gustavo Petro framed the acquisition as a “strategic alliance with Brazil,” focused on combating drug traffickers and protecting the Amazon region. If those jets are assembled in Gavião Peixoto rather than Linköping, Brazil becomes not just a fighter operator but a fighter exporter — a status that reshapes the regional balance of aerospace power in South America. The program has already created over 12,000 jobs in Brazil, with roughly 350 Brazilian engineers trained in Sweden during the technology transfer phase. Eleven of the 36 contracted Gripens (28 single-seat F-39E and 8 two-seat F-39F) have been delivered to date. The remaining aircraft will increasingly come from Brazilian hands. Since February 2026, Brazilian Gripens have been flying Quick Reaction Alert missions from Anápolis Air Force Base, protecting the airspace over Brasília. Sweden’s fighter. Brazil’s wings. Sources: Saab, Embraer, Aviation Week, The Defense Post, AeroTime