Yahoo Autos The New Saab Fighter Jets Sure Look Pretty
At this point name Saab is mostly associated with iconic cars, despite its original name: the Swedish Aeroplane Company AB. But Saab Defence and Security have released a new video hyping up their new fighter jet, the Gripen, which really grabs your attention.
What's so gripping? Well, start with a a 6K Red Dragon digital cinema camera and a $40,000 Canon camera lens. Then throw in the arctic forests of northern Sweden.
Saab is releasing a new Gripen, which they've deemed "The Smart Fighter," on May 18th. Although the Gripen is not being sold like a Saab car, creating a video born to go viral sends a message that Saab Defence thinks they've created a plane that will grab eyeballs in defense departments worldwide. (They've got a history of pushing hard: in 1999, the company was investigated after accusations of bribery in South Africa-which ended up buying 26 Gripens.)
With the new Gripens, Saab has created remarkable machines. The new Gripen D, a two seater, has a combat turnaround time of ten minutes and a total load capacity of over 11,000 pounds. The company already has long ties in Austria and Brazil, and has only worked at deepening those connections. 350 Brazilians moved to Sweden for the project, which has been documented in a web series produced by Saab.
The Gripen has been in development for nearly 30 years. Two non-fatal crashes in 1987 and 1993 and a far-left party reluctant to spend on its military meant its funding has been passed by narrow margins in the Swedish parliament. Despite that, the Gripen is a remarkable machine: light and maneuverable, with massive lift thanks to its delta wings and a canard (the short forewing) control system allowing it to hit angles of attack at 70 to 80 degrees. It also has an open-source, fully programmable and integrated avionics system, giving it a bit more flexibility for export nations to alter the aircraft as they see it. Whether they will be able to make a dent in a global market dominated by F-16s, F-18s, and the Russian-built Su-27 Flanker is a more difficult question. Regardless,even if they stay niche Saab has already proven that they can win the war on social media. This video is gorgeous.
Source: Sploid
