It isn’t the paving; carrier decks are smoother than runways. It’s the technique used for landing on short strips. It’s been described as, in effect, a carrier landing done on land – without arrestor wires, thrust reversers or braking parachutes. A bloody hard landing. Gripen’s designed to do that for its whole service life. It routinely lands in less than the length of a Nimitz-class deck – indeed, Swedish pilots have practiced carrier landings in simulators, without an arrestor hook.
“The Gripen is a true lightweight fighter, with 78% of the empty weight of an F-16C and about half the empty weight of the Viggen, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, or the Dassault Rafale.”
“Unlike the Viggen, the Gripen does not have a thrust reverser. The canard foreplanes can be tilted almost 90 degrees to act as airbrakes on landing. There are carbon brakes on all the wheels of the tricycle landing gear to reduce landing roll. Interestingly, pilots using the Gripen flight simulators have performed simulated carrier landings, without an arresting hook; it seems a bit unlikely that this will ever be done in practice, though no doubt some Gripen pilots would give it a shot if they got the chance. The landing gear has an antiskid system. The two-wheel nose gear retracts backward, while the single-wheel main gear retract at a forward angle. “
http://www.vectorsite.net/avgripen.html
This article from last year may be relevant: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207410/new-gripen-variants-studied-by-saab.html
“New Gripen variants studied by Saab
Saab-led Gripen International is studying future development options for its Gripen multirole fighter, including the possible installation of a more powerful engine, increasing the type’s overall size and maximum take-off weight, and the potential availability of a carrierborne strike variant.
…
Models of enlarged and carrierborne fighter concepts of the Gripen are expected to be unveiled at the Farnborough air show in mid-July, says Gripen International.
…
The latter is understood to have emerged as a potential candidate to meet Indian navy maritime strike requirements, but could also be offered to countries like the UK if the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter project encounters future difficulties.”
“The JAS-39 Gripen: Sweden’s 4th Generation Wild Card
…
Flight International reports that Saab-led Gripen International is studying future development options. These include a more powerful engine than the current RM12 variant of GE’s F404.
…
The least probable option mentioned by Flight International, but perhaps the most interesting, involves the possible creation of a carrier-capable Gripen that would take advantage of the Gripen’s natural short take-off and landing capabilities (it can function on a 6m x 900m runway). The most likely sales target would be India, with a possible future role in Brazil as a naval aircraft or as a backup choice to Britain’s F-35B Lightning II STOVLs on its new CVF carriers. Though the concept is intriguing, these sales prospects may not be enough to justify the expenditure involved.”
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/the-jas39-gripen-swedens-4th-generation-wild-card-02401/
PARIS AIR SHOW 2001
Gripen Team Studies ‘Sea Gripen’
The Gripen export team of Saab-BAE Systems has extended its existing studies to a navalized version of the advanced combat aircraft at the request of a potential buyer. Sources close to the program described the interest as coming from “a potential customer with an existing carrier force and current V/STOL aircraft.” Other sources close to the customer say it’s India.
Some serious thought has already been given to developing a carrier-borne version of the Gripen, which has several inherent characteristics that make it well suited to operations at sea. Gripen is designed to use very short runways, and routinely lands using the high sink rates and angles of attack demanded for carrier flying. Any future Sea Gripen would incorporate the air-to-air refueling capability already being developed for all export Gripens. Other changes would include addition of an arrestor hook and some strengthening of the existing undercarriage. Gripen’s autonomous landing system could also be modified for maritime use. A Gripen armed with Rbs 15 anti-shipping missiles would give a maritime strike capability that is unmatched by any existing carrier-borne fighter.
By Robert Hewson
http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews/01paris4/intell22.htm
The Gripen already has potential for significantly increased internal fuel tankage, and further volume could be leverages by using a new Tornado style main undercarriage.
http://img457.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gripenbobkemparticlero2.jpg
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