Gripen Operates Without Runways in Poland

Swedish air force Gripens are in action in Poland where they have deployed to take part in the Polish air force's annual series of dispersed operations exercises.

This is the second time that Gripens have made the journey to Poland for the DOL exercise, which is being conducted near Szcecin. The deployment underlines the close relationship between Sweden and Poland's defense forces, and Gripen's ability to inter-operate with a wide range of types in a NATO air force. Above all, the very unique demands of the DOL exercise emphasize some of Gripen's great operational strengths-deployability, sustainability and maintainability.
Sweden and Poland are the only two nations whose air forces routinely plan and train to fly from very short, dispersed airstrips-typically a stretch of road. Gripen was specifically designed to use Sweden's Bas 90 system of concealed wartime airbases that are hidden among forests and hills, away from the vulnerable fixed sites used for peacetime operations.

A fully-loaded Gripen can land and take-off in a distance of less than 500 metres. Hiding under the trees, running on independent APU power, a Gripen can be rearmed, refueled and dispatched back into the air by a team of just six ground troops in less than ten minutes. The aircraft itself, and its pilot, is in constant touch with the rest of its unit-be they in the air or on the ground-via Gripen's advanced high-speed digital datalink that provides supreme situational awareness.

The Gripen export team of Saab-BAE Systems is currently offering Gripen to Poland to meet its requirement for next-generation multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen meets all the Polish air force's requirements for NATO compatibility and interoperability, and would introduce an air-to-air refueling capability.

The Gripen is "an aircraft ideally suited to out-of-area operations, in support of NATO or other multi-national forces," says Simon Carr, sales and marketing director for Saab-BAE Systems. "The high availability, reliability and low support requirement allows a Gripen force to generate more sorties than any other aircraft in its class. Alternatively, Gripen can achieve the same operational tasking with a smaller force. This provides an effective force multiplier, during airtime or surge operations."