Four new Gripen fighter jets to be delivered to Hungarian Armed Forces soon

The Hungarian Embassy in Stockholm posted a photograph of the Hungarian Armed Forces' new fighter jets. The post states that 2026 will mark 20 years of cooperation between the Hungarian Air Force and Saab, during which time Hungary has been a proud operator of Gripen JAS-39 fighter jets. By summer, four new Gripen C aircraft will join the Hungarian Gripen fleet. Ambassador Péter Palóczi viewed these aircraft at the company's factory in Linköping after talks with Saab executives and staff responsible for the Gripen program.

The Hungarian Air Force currently owns fourteen Gripen aircraft, and it is this fleet that will now be strengthened by four new fighter jets. This will enable Hungary to play a more active role in European air defense. Hungarian Gripens are involved in air defense operations in Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and the Baltic states.

As announced last April by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Swedish Saab Group, which manufactures Gripen fighter jets, will be establishing a flight development center in Hungary. According to Szijjártó, the establishment of the new engineering center in Budapest—which is not only significant in terms of defense but also in terms of industry and technology—will provide valuable opportunities for Hungarian engineers, who will be carrying out important development work for the Saab Group.