Brazilian Air Force (FAB) Gripen E fighters have taken part in their first multinational exercise outside Brazil, Saab announced on 14 July 2026.
Six FAB F-39E Gripens took part in the Chile-based multi-domain exercise ‘Salitre 2026’, which began on 26 June and ended on 11 July, and was centred around Cerro Moreno Air Base near Antofagasta.
The exercise brought together more than 1,500 military personnel from the participating countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and the United States – and around 60 aircraft, which completed more than 250 flight hours across various missions.
The FAB F-39Es conducted air operations typical of conventional warfare, with the air forces involved operating under a single command and in coalition. The aircraft conducted escort, sweep, combat air patrol and air defence missions, both within visual range (WVR) and beyond visual range (BVR), employing their electronic warfare suites and tactical systems such as their Leonardo Raven ES-05 active electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar and infrared search and track (IRST) passive target search sensor.
“The participation of the F-39E Gripen in ‘Salitre 2026’ represents another step in the evolution of the Gripen programme in Brazil and reflects the steady progress of the aircraft’s implementation in the Brazilian Air Force,” Peter Dölling, the managing director of Saab Brazil, was quoted as saying in a Saab press release. “By operating for the first time in a multi-national exercise outside the country, Gripen reinforces interoperability among friendly air forces and contributes to defence co-operation in the region. For Saab, supporting the Brazilian Air Force at this stage reaffirms the value of a partnership built on a long-term vision, technology transfer and the development of strategic capabilities for Brazil.”
Saab reported that during ‘Salitre 2026’ the FAB F-39Es “completed more than 50 sorties and accumulated more than 100 flight hours, including the outbound and return ferry flights, with high availability rates”.
