Thailand Buys Three Gripen E and One Gripen F from Saab in SEK 5.3bn Defense Agreement
Thailand Buys Three Gripen E and One Gripen F from Saab in SEK 5.3bn Defense Agreement
Published:
August 22, 2025
/
Updated:
August 22, 2025
Contracts & Deals
Priya Shah
Photo by Msgt. Billy Johnston, USAF
Sweden and Thailand have signed a government-to-government contract for four Saab Gripen E/F fighters worth about SEK 5.3 billion (roughly $550-560 millions). The package covers three single-seat Gripen E and one twin seat Gripen F, with equipment, support, and training included. Deliveries will run from 2025 through 2030. Defense officials confirm the agreement followed an official Thai visit to Stockholm on August 25, with the signing witnessed by senior ministers from both countries.
Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defense minister, framed the sale as a long term industrial partnership and a signal of confidence in Swedish technology. The contract was executed by Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) alongside Saab, with Thai Air Chief Marshal Punpakdee Pattanakul signing for the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). The deal adds a second Gripen variant to Thailand’s inventory, which already includes a squadron of older C/D models.
Four Gripen E/F, SEK 5.3bn – the deal and delivery window
The order covers three E-model airframes optimized for frontline combat and one F-model configured with a second cockpit for conversion and tactical leadership roles. The support line items span training and associated equipment under FMV managment, consistent with Sweden’s standard G-to-G framework. Industry sources place the total at SEK 5.3 billion, and market data showed Saab shares rising after the annoucement.
Gripen E introduces a new mission system and sensor suite compared with Thailand’s in-service C/D jets. The type features Leonardo’s Raven ES-05 AESA radar and the Skyward-G IRST, integrated through a modern avionics backbone intended for swing-role operations. The F-model omits the internal BK-27 canon to acommodate the second crew station, which aligns with its training and lead-in strike roles. These characteristics match the RTAF’s stated goal to replace its oldest F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft and raise availability for quick reaction alert and air policing.
Two governments set a five-year delivery window. The schedule begins in 2025 and completes by 2030, which syncs with Thailand’s budget phasing and training throughput for aircrew and maintainers. FMV will steer acceptance, while Saab executes production and in-country support tasks.
What the contract covers:
Three Gripen E and one Gripen F, with support, training, and equipment.
Delivery timeline 2025-2030 under a G-to-G framework led by FMV.
Offset and technology transfer framework tied to RTAF modernization
Thai authorities say an offset policy accompanies the fighter acquisition. The outline includes technology transfer and industrial cooperation with new investments in Thailand. Separate documentation referenced offset arrangments signed alongside the fighter contract, which RTAF officials describe as part of a wider plan to strengthen local aerospace capacity and sustainment for the new fleet. According to industry sources, the offset scope links to training pipelines and long-term maintenance support to lower life cycle risk.
Thailand already operates a Saab-based network approach to air defense through the Erieye airborne surveillance system, integrated command-and-control, and the existing Gripen C/D squadron. The E/F batch will expand that arhcitecture with higher processing power and a newer electronic warfare suite, giving the air force a clearer path to incremental capability growth rather than a wholesale rebuild of doctrine and logisitics. Officials in Bangkok have publicly tied the new aircraft to a broader modernization road map that runs through the next decade.
RTAF’s modernization levers associated with the E/F buy:
Technology transfer and industrial cooperation linked to offsets.
Leveraging existing Swedish-origin C2 and AEW assets to shorten integration timelines.
Riksdag authority and export-control context after July 2025 border clash
The Swedish government states the Riksdag has authorized it to enter agreements with Thailand for up to 12 Gripen E/F and related air-defense systems. That authorization set the legal basis for this initial batch. It sits within Sweden’s strategic export-control regime, which requires defense or security policy grounds and complaince with foreign policy obligations. The government notes that its regulations are restrictive and under continuous review as Sweden aligns defense policy after NATO accession.
The backdrop includes a short, violent flare-up along the Thai-Cambodian border in late July. Thai officials acknowledged combat sorties, and several outlets reported the first combat employment of the Gripen platform by Thailand. Stockholm’s export-control authorities monitored the situation, while Sweden’s embassy in Bangkok publicly said there was no formal suspension of talks. The new order went ahead after cabinet approvals in Bangkok and coordination between FMV and Saab.
Sweden’s official release also records direct quotes from senior ministers underscoring the industrial and diplomatic dimension of the deal. The language highlights long-term collaboration and a multi-year production cadence, not a one-off transfer. The political framing matters for any subsequent Thai tranches under the same parliamentary mandate.
Bringing the new jets into a planned 12-aircraft Gripen force
Thailand labels the Gripen E/F acquisition “Peace Burapha,” with the new jets slated for 102 Squadron at Wing 1, Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima). The unit currently flies legacy F-16A/B Block 15 ADFs. Officials have indicated a 12-aircraft objective over the next decade, with this first batch funded at 19.5 billion baht under the 2025-2029 budget window. The E/F introduction will phase out the oldest F-16s while keeping upgraded airframes on the line until 2030s retirement.
The RTAF expects a measured transition. Twin-seat F-model jets allow conversion without stripping frontline E-model capacity, and the system design supports rapid role changes between air defence and strike. Thailand’s existing Gripen community shortens type conversion and reduces the training burden compared with a clean-sheet platform change. Officials in Stockholm describe Thailand as the third country to procure the E/F series after Sweden and Brazil, a data point that supports multilateral user cooperation on upgrades and spares pooling.
Cabinet-level coordination in Bangkok over the past weeks cleared the final political hurdles. Statements from Thai leaders during the Stockholm visit emphasized deterrence and adherence to international law, while noting an offset policy designed to build domestic competence around the aircraft. The sequence-cabinet approval, embassy clarifications, signing ceremony-tracked with earlier road-mapping by both sides.
The RTAF’s current network includes Swedish airborne early warning and a Gripen C/D squadron based in the south. Bringing the E/F into the same architecture consolidates procurement, training, and mission data management. It opens a pathway to advanced munitions already cleared on the Gripen family, subject to seperate export decisions.
Our analysis shows Thailand is buying time and control over risk. The air force avoids a deep integration shock, keeps pilot conversion inside a familiar cockpit philosphy, and spreads funding across a predictable schedule. Sweden, for its part, anchors a second export user for the E/F line beyond Brazil and gains a partner that already operates Swedish sensors and command systems. The result tightens industrial ties while preserving policy levers through the Riksdag’s tranche authority.
Now the work moves into execution: FMV must run and pass acceptance tests, Thailand must stand up an F-model instructor cadre, and depots must adopt E/F maintenence practices at pace. Progress on those fronts, together with budget availability and the regional security picture, will decide whether Bangkok orders more jets. This won’t force a complete overhaul of Thailand’s airpower, but it will put sustainment systems and training pipelines under sustained pressure for the next five years.
REFERENCE SOURCES
https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/thailand-finalises-deal-for-four-gripen-e/f-fighters/164254.article
https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press-releases/2025/saab-receives-gripen-ef-order-for-thailand
https://www.government.se/press-releases/2025/08/swedish-success-together-with-thailand–new-deal-on-gripen-ef/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/sweden-agrees-sell-four-saab-gripen-fighter-jets-thailand-2025-08-25/
https://www.reuters.com/en/thailand-buy-4-more-swedish-gripen-fighter-jets-air-force-says-2025-06-04/
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/07/after-thailands-gripens-combat-mission-questions-of-future-sales/
https://breakingdefense.com/2025/08/saab-secures-550m-gripen-e-f-order-for-thailand/
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/policy/40054482
https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/asean/40053459
https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/8c57a4a527a14313836546568d3113c3/strategic-export-control-in-2023–military-equipment-and-dual-use-items.pdf
https://electronics.leonardo.com/en/products/raven-1
The post Thailand Buys Three Gripen E and One Gripen F from Saab in SEK 5.3bn Defense Agreement appeared first on defense-aerospace.
Sweden and Thailand have signed a government-to-government contract for four Saab Gripen E/F fighters worth about SEK 5.3 billion (roughly $550-560 millions). The package covers three single-seat Gripen E and one twin seat Gripen F, with equipment, support, and training included. Deliveries will run from 2025 through 2030. Defense officials confirm the agreement followed an official Thai visit to Stockholm on August 25, with the signing witnessed by senior ministers from both countries.
The post Thailand Buys Three Gripen E and One Gripen F from Saab in SEK 5.3bn Defense Agreement appeared first on defense-aerospace.
