Swedish aerospace company Saab has started testing the fighter of the next generation Gripen E. during the flight on 18 October, over the Baltic sea, piloted by test pilot Robin Norlander, he first achieved supersonic speed is 1225 km/h.
According to Norlander, thanks to the unique capabilities of the engine and of the fuselage structure, he almost did not feel the moment of crossing the sound barrier after a few minutes after takeoff. Since the beginning of the test (from 15 June) fighter flew for 20 hours.
Length Gripen E is 15.2 m, wingspan of 8.6 m, a maximum takeoff weight -16500 kg. the Engine is manufactured by General Electric F114G provides the fighter max speed 2450 km/h and a maximum ceiling of 16,000 m. For comparison, the maximum speed of the Lockheed F-35 is only Mach 1.6 — 1962 km/h, despite the fact that he has a powerful engine and more ceiling height.
“As pilots Grippen E, we are used to extreme speeds, says test pilot Markus Wandt, But at the moment of crossing the sound barrier experience true pleasure. So everything happens smoothly and imperceptibly”.
Source — SAAB