JA 37 Viggen

The Saab 37 Viggen (English: Thunderbolt) was a Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range fighter aircraft and attack aircraft, manufactured between 1970 and 1990. Several variants were produced to perform the roles of all-weather fighter-interceptor, ground attack, and photo-reconnaissance, as well as a two-seat trainer. The Viggen was initially developed as a replacement for the Saab 32 Lansen in the attack role and later the Saab ... more

The Saab 37 Viggen (English: Thunderbolt) was a Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range fighter aircraft and attack aircraft, manufactured between 1970 and 1990. Several variants were produced to perform the roles of all-weather fighter-interceptor, ground attack, and photo-reconnaissance, as well as a two-seat trainer. The Viggen was initially developed as a replacement for the Saab 32 Lansen in the attack role and later the Saab 35 Draken as a fighter. The first studies were carried out between 1952 and 1957 involving the Finnish aircraft designer Aarne Lakomaa. Several different concepts were studied involving both single- and twin engines and also with separate lift engines, both simple and double delta wings and also with canard wings. Even VTOL designs were considered. The aim was to produce a robust aircraft with good short-runway performance that could be operated from numerous specially prepared roads and highways to reduce the vulnerability to attack in the... less