Defense Forces Give a Glimpse of a Gripen Fighter Jet’s Armament

The Szentgyörgyi Dezső 101st Airborne Brigade of the Hungarian Defense Forces has uploaded a video on its social media page of a job that can rarely be seen by an average person, Magyar Nemzet spotted. The video shows the suspension of the Gripen armament and the loading of ammunition into the integrated cannon. The 27 mm Mauser BK-27 can fire 1,680 rounds per minute.

As reported by Hungary Today, in February, Prime Minister Orbán announced plans to expand and supplement the existing air defense fleet by acquiring four additional Gripen aircraft in the framework of a military-industrial agreement with Sweden. In addition to the new JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets, the government has also purchased a modernization package. According to a scheduling plan, another 16 Gripen fighters are reportedly scheduled to arrive after 2030.

Not much later, Minister of Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky also confirmed the agreement, adding that a competence center for artificial intelligence will also be established on the basis of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Defense and the Swedish defense company SAAB.

As Magyar Nemzet writes, the air combat and strike capability will be supported by new Meteor and IRIS-T air-to-air missiles, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles (AGM), which have also been ordered for training, and GBU-49 guided bombs. The new weaponry against air targets consists of two main components:

The Meteor is a long-range, radar-guided air-to-air missile, which will be equipped with a PS-05/A Mk4 radar. The radar will be twice as long-range as the previous system.

In contrast, the IRIS-T, an infrared self-guided, thrust vector-controlled missile, will support close combat.

Their combined power increases the angular range from which an enemy aircraft will not be able to escape without a hit.

The strike capability against ground targets will be enhanced with the combined laser/GPS guided GBU-49 bomb. The guided bomb is capable of attacking ground targets from a greater distance and therefore from a safer position. Compared with existing laser-guided bombs, the device has the advantage of being deployable in foggy or rainy weather and in dusty air.

Hungarian Gripen Aircraft on NATO Exercise in Greece