First Additional Gripen Fighter Assembled for Hungary

The first of four additional JAS 39C Gripen fighter jets for the Hungarian Air Force has been assembled.

Photos of the aircraft were published by the Hungarian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.

The additional fighters were ordered in February 2024 as part of an extension to the existing contract between the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the Hungarian government, originally signed in December 2001.

As of today, the Hungarian Air Force operates 14 fighter jets, including 12 single-seat JAS 39C and two two-seat JAS 39D aircraft, which are leased from Saab.

Under the agreement, the entire Gripen fighter fleet will be transferred to Hungarian ownership in 2026.

Saab will continue to provide maintenance and logistical support for Hungary’s Gripen fleet until 2036.

In addition, under a contract signed in August 2021 between the Ministry of Defence and Saab, the fighters will undergo modernization.

The aircraft will first receive the upgraded PS-05/Mk4 radar, as well as software updates to the MS 20 Block 2 standard.

The armament of the Hungarian Gripen fleet has also been expanded with IRIS-T missiles, which were ordered from Germany in December 2021.

In September 2025, a pair of Hungarian JAS 39 Gripen fighters intercepted Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea that were flying with their radio communications switched off and without filed flight plans.

The interception took place as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission, which patrols the airspace of the Baltic states.

Read more about modern Swedish combat aircraft in the article: “Gripen E/F Fighter: An Aircraft Built from Contributions Around the World.”