Saab to build future combat air demonstrator by 2027
The $235M program will test new avionics, sensors and AI-based systems.
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Saab has announced the signing of a new agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to continue work on the Konceptprogram Framtida Stridsflygsystem (KFS), the conceptual program for future air combat systems. The contract, valued at approximately SEK 2.6 billion (about USD 235 million), covers the period 2025–2027 and includes technology development, studies of manned and unmanned systems, and the construction of a flying demonstrator designed to validate key technologies before 2027.
The initiative is part of the national effort known as Vägval Stridsflyg (“Air Combat Path Choice”), whose goal is to establish the technological and doctrinal foundation that will sustain Sweden’s air defense capability beyond 2040, when the Gripen C/D and E fleets begin to approach the end of their operational lives.
“This order marks the next step in our joint work to deliver innovative solutions that meet the future operational needs of the Swedish Armed Forces and other customers,” said Lars Tossman, head of Saab’s Aeronautics business area.
A national high-technology program
According to FMV, the new contract ensures continuity in the work initiated in 2024, expanding its scope to include the manufacture and flight testing of a demonstrator capable of validating next-generation critical technologies.
“This extension secures continuity in the development process and constitutes an essential step toward verifying the technologies that will underpin future decisions on Sweden’s air combat capability,” stated Carl-Fredrik Edström, head of FMV’s Air and Space Materiel Division.
The project is being carried out in close cooperation among Saab, GKN Aerospace, FMV, the Swedish Armed Forces, and the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), reflecting an integrated system-of-systems approach that seeks to combine manned platforms with unmanned vehicles and networked combat capabilities.
Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson emphasized on social media that the SEK 2.7 billion investment represents “a message of strength for Sweden’s aerospace industry,” adding that “being at the technological forefront is essential for Sweden’s security and for our role in future European and allied air cooperation.”
Toward a first flight in 2027
The program’s schedule sets out that design and technology development activities will continue until the third quarter of 2026, while the flying demonstrator — integrating new-generation avionics, sensors, composite materials, and flight-control technologies — is expected to be ready for its first test flights in 2027.
Although Saab has not disclosed details about the aircraft’s configuration, the demonstrator is expected to explore concepts such as modular platforms, artificial intelligence integration, low observability, and cooperative operation with drones, in line with the trends seen in other international sixth-generation fighter programs.
The project also reinforces the continuity of Sweden’s aerospace ecosystem, ensuring the transfer of know-how from the Gripen E/F program to the next-generation combat system. In doing so, Sweden seeks to preserve its technological sovereignty, maintain a competitive national industrial base, and avoid external dependencies in an increasingly complex European security environment.
Post-Gripen era
The Vägval Stridsflyg program has yet to define its final outcome — whether a new-generation manned fighter, a family of MUM-T systems, or a hybrid architecture — but its direction confirms that Sweden intends to follow an autonomous path in fighter design and development. After initially participating in the British Tempest program, the country chose to prioritize its own technological trajectory, leveraging the experience gained through international cooperation to strengthen its domestic aerospace sector.
This pursuit of independence also reflects Sweden’s intent to preserve its distinctive operational doctrine, centered on aircraft with low operating costs, rapid maintenance, and the ability to deploy from roads and dispersed bases — a philosophy that has proven its validity in recent years and finds empirical confirmation today in the experience of the Ukrainian Air Force, which continues to operate effectively under dispersed and high-threat conditions.
The development of the demonstrator, expected to fly in 2027, marks a new milestone in Sweden’s air defense strategy and ensures the continuity of a national fighter design tradition that combines technological independence with operational realism.
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