I lied... this is the best fighter jet ever

[@katherineberger6329]

Fun fact: The Viggen is the only jet fighter that you can parallel park.

[@charlyspor7594]

Harrier, yak 141, f-35 could "technically" do it

[@goosejuice27]

​@@charlyspor7594those arent the only vtol jets either

[@charlyspor7594]

​@@goosejuice27I know, but they are the first that came to mind

[@Harrier-Guy]

@@charlyspor7594I was summoned?

[@Harrier-Guy]

@@goosejuice27The only valid VTOL is the harrier tho…

[@-NiEr]

During the Viggen era (cold war), Sweden with (then) 8.3 million people, had the 4th largest air force in the world!

[@yuriytymoshchuk9233]

Small adjustment. 3rd in the world at its peak😊

[@kronop8884]

The reason for this was that with exception of the victorious forces of WWII there where virtually no one left besides Sweden with an airforce of any significance

[@-NiEr]

@@kronop8884 4th largest air force in the sixties = Saab aircraft + imported british and US aircraft. WW2 ended in 1945...

[@TheCephalus]

@@kronop8884 nope, Sweden peaked in the 70's, plenty of time for everyone to rebuild, and most WWII planes were retired.

[@kronop8884]

@@TheCephalus Swedish airforce was considered the fourth largest in the world around 1955, it comprised of around 1200 modern aircraft back then only surpassed by US, UK and USSR

[@exPOnEntial7]

While aviation enthusiasts remember the Viggen as one of the best fighters of its day bar none, many, many others remember the Viggen as that jet from the cool Saab car ads.

[@derf5045]

"from then to the 9000turbo at around 28000$, and stops at the SAAB Viggen" is one of the hardest lines in any ad ever

[@stoyantodorov2133]

To be fair these ads did more harm than good. SAAB cars were more focused on understated luxury and practicality as well as safety (except the NG900 and OG9-3 which were absolute trash in that department). They were kinda fast, but definitely not sports cars which their ads tried so desperately to push. SAAB tried selling their car to the wrong crowd and the sales definitely showed it.

[@danielkarlsson9326]

@@stoyantodorov2133 OG 900 was and is still considrered a rally car and the 9000 AERO was and is considered a sportcar. The NG 900 and OG 9-3 and the pre 2006 facelift 9-5 has no Sport in their DNA at all. the chassie upgrades done in 2006 did give the 9-5 a whole diffrent character and should have been given from the start if it wasnt for some decisionmakers like Bob Lutz clearly not understanding what a Driver oriented car was. But all SAAB's up and including the 9000 was Sporty or "Sports cars" on the same level or better than Audi and BMW's when it comes to the Driver experience, hence why they tended to do well in competitions even though SAAB not putting any money in it. The only exception is ofc the SAAB 600 which was a bloody Lancia.

[@stoyantodorov2133]

@@danielkarlsson9326While there were some performance oriented models like the 99/900 turbo and the 9000 aero, at no point were they faster around a track compared to the contemporary german or italian car. SAAB is definitely not remembered as the brand that left a mark in motorsports. They are remembered as the first to put a turbo on a reasonably priced and practical car and that they were mainly driven by rich, white collar workers. I’m personally driving my second SAAB now so you can trust me on this, they are definitely very nice cars all around, but sports cars they are not, not even the 9000 aero.

[@Kommunisator]

@@stoyantodorov2133 In the older days, Saab were actually known to be quicker than the earlier Porsche 356/911 on the Autobahn. Later on, Saab were again the quickest were it mattered most - accelerating in highest gear from around 70 to 120km/h, typical for an overtake maneuver on a byroad (they were quicker in this than basically any Lamborghini or Ferrari at that time). Also, the typical Saab customer was not after a sporty car, but rather after refinement without being shouty. Safety without looking boxy. Think Architects, Designers, generally people of higher education. Saabs customer base was lusted after by other companies, but it was never huge.

[@Kevin-lo7se]

As a kid of the 70's and 80's I loved the Draken, Viggen and the Gripen. Sweden had some amazing inhouse aerospace engineering. Thanks for a great video. I learned even more about them.

[@kramasnu3826]

*has

[@ThorsMartell]

Which is even more impressive if you consider that Sweden has a population around 12 million. They had to develop that plane with a fraction of the military budget that the Soviets or Americans had. Having Sweden with its competing designs in NATO now, is an absolute blessing. We need competing designs and defense companies within NATO.

[@Gonefishing6572]

​@@kramasnu3826Had , he's talking 70s and 80s and the beautiful jets of the time. 😊 AND STILL MAKING BEAUTIFUL JETS ❤.

[@josebrown5961]

I discovered the Draken in a Japanese anime called Area 88 in the 80s. For a while the lead character flew one. The Viggen was another plane that was beautiful.

[@peder6199]

@@ThorsMartell We have just a bit over 10 million now, back in 1960 it was 7,5 1969 it past 8 but not until 2004 did we pass 9.

[@janmat11330]

Viggen in Swedish is the name of a duck, but both the duck and the aircraft names actually refer to ‘åskviggen’. In the viking age it was thought that axe-shaped flint rocks found in the ground were created by lightning strikes thrown by the god Thor’s hammer. They were regarded as extremely rare and possessed magical powers. Åskviggen literally means ‘something sharp created by lightning’.

[@cuffzter]

Indeed. Tunnan (barrel) was named after its barrel -like shape from the side (at least it wasnt named "the pregnant sow"). Lansen looks like arrow or spearhead or a sharp lance from above. Draken isnt "dragon" but Kite, since its shape from above is like a square with 2 long sides and 2 short and Viggen is a "S" shaped lightning bolt with its big delta wing and small canard. Gripen is actually the first in a while not named after its shape since it was named by the winner of a name-giving contest. (if that happened today it would have been named "Plane McPlaneface")

[@Henkibojj]

​@@cuffzterGood info. I'll add to it that the Gripen means "the Griffin", which is what is depicted on the coat of arms of Östergötland, the region of the city where all planes of Sweden are made (Linköping).

[@sw1nkz50]

It's doesn't mean lighting, but Thunderbolt, which is the lightning and thunder of Thor's hammer, and makes the name even better.

[@peterbockholm3176]

@@sw1nkz50 Vigg was the thunderbolt, not the thunder. That came from Thor driving his battle wagon over the firmament, it was pulled by his giant rams Tanngnjost and Tanngrisner.

[@jonassoderberg6817]

Small nitpicking: "Vigg" imeans both "tufted duck" and "bolt" in Swedish, which means that "Viggen" translates to "the tufted duck" or "the bolt". In similar terms: "drake" means both "dragon" and "drake" (as in male duck) in Swedish, giving "Draken" the meaning of "the dragon"" or "the drake". Finally, as before, "grip" is "griffin" in Swedish and "Gripen" is the definite form meaning "the Griffin" and "the Gripen" would be "the the Griffin" with two definite articles.

[@blitzzkrieg1400]

Do a video about the Gripen, too!

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

Isn't that a car or something

[@fuqupal]

@@RobertCraft-re5sf It's a jet fighter

[@murdoch9106]

@@RobertCraft-re5sf Its the successor to the Viggen, Swedens current jet that first flew in the early 90's. SAAB did have a car with the Viggen name I believe, some special editions back in the day.

[@oooooooooo3449]

Noooo, it's lame.

[@Brickman513]

@@oooooooooo3449F22 fanboy?

[@bennywidnersson1513]

The reason USA singed a deal to help Sweden against the Sovjets as you mentioned in the video is that Sweden agreed to stop the development of an atomic bomb program that where quite far developed at that time. Another fun fact is that when the Viggen got a lock on the SR71 USA had sent a FAX to the air base the plane came from, congratulating to the lock before the planes had landed at the base.

[@sw1nkz50]

It would honestly have been funny if we hadn't stopped, imagine Sweden being 6th nuclear power, because the bomb was almost ready in 1965, with only 6 months left to a detonation test, Sweden would have become a nuclear power 8 years before India.

[@RobertClaeson]

@@sw1nkz50 Sweden was probably the only country to build a nuclear reactor in the centre of a major city, and another one in the near suburbs of the same city.

[@sw1nkz50]

@@RobertClaeson They're safe tho

[@macademin864]

@@sw1nkz50 Sweden were still considered to be a De Facto Nuclear power together with Japan up until 2 February 2012. Since we have the competency, the high tech industry, and access to the material needed to quickly build a bomb. But in 2010s it was pointed out that Sweden had never opened up Agesta Reactor for NPT inspections and that it was possible that sweden had kept plutonium and uranium for enrichment there. On 2nd of February 2012 Sweden handed over just over 3Kg Plutonium and 9 Kg uranium to the NPT and the USA. Up until that point Sweden had in intelligence communities around the world been considered a de facto nuclear power who at very short notice would be able to have their own bomb.

[@falukropp2000]

@@sw1nkz50 Knowing how the heat exchanger between steam and heat water to Farsta were designed in Ågesta, I wouldn't say so ;-)

[@jokervienna6433]

Born in Sweden 1970, I saw the Viggen and the Draken flying over many times. The Viggen was extremely loud, one always knew if it was around. It really tore the air apart. I even had the opporttunity to watch Viggen pilots practise ground target shooting. They came in basically at tree top level, turned upside down, aimed, took the shot, then turned around again and then went straight up, really defying gravity. Very powerful to watch. Back then, there where some Biggles-type pilots left (I think they are sorted out in the recruting process now). One was asked to do a low pass over the flight tower. He did. The windows shook and the treetops moved. Afterwards he admitted that "It might have been a little too low", in a very dry voice.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

The Swedish air force used to have pretty gruesome training exercises. It caused quite a few deaths among the pilots and eventually the practices changed. The stopped most if not all of the real low altitude training. Before that they often trained flying at something like five to ten meters over sea. A coworkers dad was a fighter pilot and one day she got a call telling her that he had died in a crash when his Viggen fighter had crashed into a lake during an exercise. Another co worker was a retired fighter pilot. He had flown everything between the Saab J29 Tunnan and Saab 37 Viggen. He told me about the style of the old training and he did make it sound insane. And yet I can't remember there ever being a lot of talk about crashed fighters at the time.

[@svanstroll]

Sometimes they had spruce twigs lodged somewhere when they came back.. ;)

[@peterkarlsson1825]

Peter Lindén?

[@RandomName100]

@@svanstroll That was more routine than you might think. It had it's own listing in the mechanics reports. And it was basically seen as a merit by the pilots.

[@ingainloggningsnamn]

it really tore the ass apart.

[@X-Gen-001]

I'll always have a soft spot for the Viggen. It was the first model fighter kit I ever assembled as a kid.

[@markwilliamwestonwilson1503]

I worked at Matctbox toys and we made a Viggen

[@Jan-ÅkeBarmé]

You can still see Viggens performing regularly at Swedish air shows, which I would highly recommended. Viggen has one of the loudest, deepest and most thunderous sound of any single engine fighter you will likely ever hear.

[@andersnilsson973]

Yes, it is more like a rocket crackling sound.

[@Shudnawz]

The demonstrations where they land, go hard on the brakes, come to a standstill, then do a three-point turn all without help and take off again are just awesome.

[@perwestermark8920]

Standing close to the landing strip at the point where two Viggen did lift and went what felt like straight up on afterburner is the loudest sound I have ever felt. Hands over the ears doesn't help much when the skull bone transfers the sound.

[@spa1ktc]

When I was a kid we often saw pairs of Viggen patrolling the coast at low altitude. An amazing sight and even better sound.

[@Blablablabla1ify]

It should be pointed out that the Viggen was initially designed primarily as an attack aircraft: AJ-37 (attack jakt/fighter). It was a poor dog fighter and could only employ a variant of the AIM-9 against air targets. The JA-37 came later and had a tweaked engine to avoid compressor stalls during high AoA manoeuvres and, crucially, an air-to-air capable radar. You can visually tell the types apart by the black tip of the vertical stab jutting aft slightly on the JA, and that they weren’t camo painted.

[@tr6431]

The JA-version existed with splinter camo as well, but most of them got the grey color scheme later on. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Saab_JA_37_Viggar_F_13_Br%C3%A5valla_1981_001.jpg/1000px-Saab_JA_37_Viggar_F_13_Br%C3%A5valla_1981_001.jpg

[@craig.a.glesner]

One of the fun things about playing GENERATION ZERO is finding Viggens parked in those highway bunkers.

[@Ragedaonenlonely]

Yet there's no Draken around sadly, even though the J35J would still have been in service at that point.

[@Lazy_Viking]

I did my miltary service in the mid 90's when Gripen and Viggen still served together. The Gripen is awesome, a great plane. But the Viggen is on another level. Just looking at it you can feel the power it radiates. I watched them fly over the sea, so close to the surface that if they lowered the landing gear the wheels would hit the water.

[@BigSwede7403]

What the video does not mention (nor can any speaker or headset really present) is how _insanely_ loud these things were. Especially when lighting the afterburner and pushing into supersonic.

[@defender9865]

Notes: 1. The defence agreement with the US was probably to make Sweden shut down the nuclear weapons program. In return, Sweden would be covered by the US and NATO nuclear arms umbrella. 2. Only the JA 37 version had elevons. All other versions (AJ, SF, SH and SK 37) had separate elevator and aileron control surfaces. Another difference was that only the JA 37 could use its canard flaps with the landing gear retracted.

[@BustaHymen]

Brings back childhood memories, we saw them often back then. My uncle used to fly them ❤

[@jimsvideos7201]

I can only imagine that all of the technical manuals are reams and reams of Ikea pictograms.

[@bonkerbanker]

Well the pictograms etc is a IKEA thing, not a Swedish thing 😂

[@SwePete]

"Please god, deliver me from swedish furniture"

[@riddick7082]

@@SwePete, Not all Swedish furniture comes from Ikea. Some of the world's truly high-end furniture is made in Sweden

[@angrydragonslayer]

​@@riddick7082i briefly did some contract work for one of those high-end furniture artisans 😊 $120k for a table (on the low end 😂)

[@femountain]

🤣🤣🤣

[@blakewu1375]

If nothing else, the Swedish camo paint schemes for their fighters were great, much more visually stunning than other AFs'.

[@azynkron]

It's called Splinter. It's not only used for the AF, but for tanks and uniforms. It was digitally designed so that all paint jobs were unique. E.i. even the uniforms had a different pattern.

[@JH-lo9ut]

This was only used for the ground attack-version of viggen, not the fighter version , and not on the other jets. The Swedish splinter camo predates digitally created patterns.

[@angaudlinn]

@15:40 Well, we (or me, a swedish kid in the 80's) saw a lot of it, when it was sniffing low over the tree tops. I can still remember the roar. All those long and perfectly straight forest roads with miniature airbases along the edges were cool too and is still there as a reminder of the cold war era.

[@KrashPad]

You forgot to mention the JT8-D was an airliner engine. Used in the 737, 727, DC-9, and the Caravelle.

[@Groza_Dallocort]

Indeed some minor modifications and a afterburner fitted. Sure military engines is stronger but civilian engines are easier to maintain

[@kronop8884]

@@Groza_DallocortMajor modifications was needed

[@tor2919]

Major modifications was done to that engine. There are white papers on it online.

[@obliviouz]

Omg, it's an Lotus Elise! That super car had the engine from a...... Toyota Camry!

[@MrViggie37]

Us Swedes were on level with the Russians and Americans in terms of aircraft making. Proud of dad who flew the JA 37 variant between 1995-2002 🫡

[@sc1338]

Definitely superior to the soviets, but with the Americans? Idk about that lol still amazing such a small country could develop its own great fighters

[@MrViggie37]

@@sc1338 I said on the same level. Viggen was around the Phantom era and the Viggen is superior to the Phantom in some parts. But compard to the F-16, F-15 and so on, the Viggen is worse.

[@chieftainmk11]

The Swedish certainly surpass the Soviets and the Russians in aircraft design, it's not even a competition

[@MrViggie37]

@@chieftainmk11 Su-27 is of course better than the Viggen but the Gripen is on the same level or better id say. Viggen compared to the Mig-29 is superior. Mig-29 had better manouverability but the JA 37 had better avionics, better weapons, better datalink and so on.

[@hellbird2233]

​@@MrViggie37interestingly enough i doubt the Viggen was worse than the F-16. Reason being. Before retiring the older Jas-35 Draken in Denmark they upgraded it one last time and compared it to the F-16 and it had practically the same specs with just better maneuverability than the F-16

[@WennbergRobert]

Viggen does not refer to the duck bird vigg, but to a thunderbolt.

[@a_catfish5180]

Naturally I want a video on the gripen now Also for the observant, yes S.T.O.L literally means chair in Swedish

[@fjl4797]

Lived and grew up close to an airbase. My neighbor, the Viggen pilot, chased a polish ”art salesman” through the neighborhood with his service pistol. The Soviet’s were constantly trying h to keep tabs on the home of every Viggen-pilot. He also had several tenures as an instructor at Miramar as an expert on Soviet fighter jets and their weaknesses.

[@Martillo.1.11]

Fun fact! there is one AJ-37 viggen on El museo del Aire y del Esapacio im Madrid, Spain, i went nuts when I knew that, even contacted the museum lmao

[@dinmorsamushimushi]

3:51 Sweden had a nuclear program, but if Sweden let go of the nuclear program America will put us under their nuclear umbrella. Read a book called “atomåldern är här”. It is in swedish, but I’m sure it can be in English too. This is the reason

[@niure86]

I was about to write this! The US didn’t want small rouge states with their own nuclear weapons in the case of a conflict, but rather have control over all western nukes via NATO. And that made them offer Sweden protection, on the condition that Sweden gave up our nuclear weapons program.

[@Swecan76]

I was in the Swedish air-force in the mid 90's. The role was protecting the airbase. Man those Viggen (Gripen existed but not fully in service) were loud. I always loved the look of it. Because it has this type of beast "muscular" look in the body of the air craft. A pilot made a really low pass flying over the air base. Nearly felt my ear drums would pop. What a roar. Then when back home in the City (Stockholm, capital) you could at times hear them fly over and when they flew sub-sonic speeds you could hear coming from miles away so loud. Literal thunder roar when flying past.

[@padawanmage71]

I'm glad you mentioned the incident with the SR-71 and its engine, though i do wonder if you could perhaps make a more in-depth episode about the whole sequence? I remember seeing a different channel about how recently the US Air Force honored the Viggen pilots who safely escorted the plane out of their airspace, even with (allegedly?) being locked on by Soviet MiGs (i wonder if the Soviets were beyond visual range, or were literally behind the damaged spy plane and the Viggens?

[@johndickinson281]

I found your channel about a month ago, and I have been loving it! You give nice and concise info about modern/historic aircraft. As well as interesting experimental ones. Keep up the awesome work!

[@saudade369]

I saw this at Far borough in 79 ,if I remember . It was a truly body shaking moment as it flew past at low altitude . Probably the most stunning plane I’ve seen fly ,that and the Vulcan of course !

[@davidlangley1725]

Then I guess you,re not old enough to have experienced an EE Lightning flypast. That truly was an unforgettable experience.

[@saudade369]

@@davidlangley1725 ah but I am , I think there was one squadron left in service in the 80s and one did fly at Farnborough and straight up ! Everything from the lightnings , Buccaneers , to Vulcans flew that year , along with more modern jets if I remember rightly , but it was the Viggen I was looking forward to seeing and it didn’t disappoint .

[@boffisgd]

Well made video! I visited a museum last year in the Gothenburg area, an old underground bunker where these planes would be stored during the cold war era. They have two Viggens on display, in one of them you could crawl inside the engine bay, which I did! :D

[@warhawk4494]

Cool beans. Lol And the warthunder cover is a nice touch. Great video btw. GG

[@goldenbao3510]

I think in the su27 video, he used a voiceline from the war thunder testing range lol, i thought that was coming from in game when i was watching lol

[@juhovalio5906]

I have seen the Viggen fly in an airshow once. What I remember is that it is LOUD. Insanely loud. Mindblowingly loud. Eurofighters, hornets, gripens, rafales etc. sound like electric cars compared to that. The engine on that thing is a beast.

[@jubuttib]

One of my favorites in DCS, the 90s upgraded AJS-37 ground attack version that is. For it's time its just such an advanced and ergonomic plane. The startup is fast, the hud is responsive and helpful, only showing what's needed at any given time, the navigation system is really nice to use (really nice navigation out to the target, ingress and popup point navigation doesn't need extra waypoints, the system puts you into a proper landing pattern automatically if you follow it, etc.), the autopilot is super effective and helpful when you're busy working the radar etc. (for example if you're in level flight and you hit trim left or right, the plane will roll to a preset angle to give you a specific turn profile, and if you hit it the other way you'll return back to level flight, trim up/down can be used to adjust your commanded altitude hold, etc.), even the damn fuel gauge is nice in that it shows your remaining fuel as a percentage of total, so it's easier to tell when the external tank is empty (~100% internal fuel = external tank is empty and can be jettisoned), AND there's a separate dial that takes into account the remaining flight plan and automatically shows how much fuel is needed to get home, so you're less likely to overextend yourself by accident (can't forget to set bingo fuel). It's age does show in how SOME of the weapon systems aren't as nice as today when we have better MFD workflows and more of a HOTAS oriented design philosophy, but for its time it was super nice.

[@mathiassvensson7911]

Grew up with the 37 as my father worked with them, fun times follow him to work!

[@petertyson4022]

When I was a kid. I used to make models. When I saw Draken. I had to buy it and make it. Same with the viggan. Beautiful looking aircrafts. 👍

[@gurrag5037]

Three times I have locked eyes with a Viggen pilot and seen the grin on his face.... While he was flying and I was on the ground. Those guys were masters of flying low!

[@RealVand3r]

VIGGEN SUPREMACY RAGHHHHHHHHHH

[@danielchristiansen6163]

@11.34 the warhead says "tryck ej her" meaning "don't push here" 😂

[@sysghost]

The reason is that it's hollow. Its thin cap can be damaged if pushed from the side, damaging the antiship missile's internal radar.

[@elbraxo6951]

As a SAAB 9-3 Viggen -99 owner i agree with this video.

[@Schenton]

The Viggen is basically the largest and most powerful engine Sweden could build, then they strapped some wings and a cockpit to it and called it done. The pilots then said -Fuck yeah lets goo!

[@ICEE-Weather]

My favorite Country Sweden 🇸🇪 ❤️ Finally get some positive praise 👏

[@ClyDIley]

As a waterfowl hunter from the USA, the scariest possible name you could give a fighter flying over my head would be the "duck"

[@weien_024]

The "Gripen" Sounds exciting, I'd vote to see that video next

[@bodan1196]

As I remember the meaning of the swedish word "vigg", it refers to the lightning part of thunder, not the sound. (?) Though I can't argue with how the sound of the RM8 made the air crackle when a Viggen took off. In the early 1990's when car alarms had become common, the Viggen set off a lot of of them at air shows.

[@sw1nkz50]

It means thunderbolt, so both the lighting and thunder, the name was chosen after the thunderbolt that followed Thor's hammer

[@Farksisten]

The Rb 04 anti-ship missile was the primary armament of the AJ 37, not the SH 37. While the latter could carry the weapon it was still primarily a reconnaissance platform.

[@Jdmsweden96]

Yup!

[@danielnylund7370]

Also, having lots of anti ship missiles makes a lot of sense when your primary defense against the Soviets was making sure they would never even get to Sweden. Probably explains why Sweden had som many submarines in the Baltic Sea during the cold war as well.

[@johncunningham4820]

When it was built it WAS the most advanced Multi-Role Fighter in the World . First to make SERIOUS use of the Canard configuration too . Worked so well that everyone else basically copied the concept . I'm reasonably sure the Gripen can reverse too . Same Mission statement . Remote Hangar , Small auxiliary Staff contingent . Land on a Road , then reverse into the Shed .

[@owenschulz9504]

I never expected a viggen with a gripen paint scheme to go so hard

[@FastFatman]

Given the choice between "The Duck" or "Thunderbolts from Thor's Hammer" I would go for the Thor's Hammer thing. No other fighter has represented a countries heritage and lore more than the Viggen. Like the SR-71 (I pulled Security Police duty on one in 1982) you just can't take your eyes off of it, It is so surreal. Thanks for the memories Sweden!

[@goofyrulez7914]

Sweden came up with some fantastic machines.

[@pereldh5741]

Viggen is ”Thunder” in swedish, roughly transcripted. Makes sense when you hear it take off IRL

[@Zmit]

Yes please! More on the SAAB jets. If possible also the next gen development project SAAB is doing with one of the major American companies. I had the pleasure of attending a seminar, where the lead system engineer from SAAB on the next gen jet project was guest speaker. We Scandinavians consider the Swedes to be a people of a consensus culture, but the lead system engineer had some difficulties hiding how pissed she was over there had been a political decision made by the Americans that the jet should have twin rudders even though it would be an inferior solution in all aspects to the one developed (as evolution of the Griffen design) by the Swedish team. As she (politely) said it: "We have an established track record of making good aeronautic design".

[@danielkarlsson9326]

Was that not related to the British lead Tempest program which we left with the Words "Call us back when youre actually willing to build real Aircrafts"?.

[@nzxt1234]

Intresting ! thx for sharing u have any more information about it or what happend ect ?

[@bodan1196]

Arguing for a bigger share of the defence budget, a chief of the swedish airforce once said: "The navy's missile boats do 40 knots over the waves; the airforce's Lansen with similar missiles, do 400 knots, at the same height over the waves." Anyone who have seen a group of tufted duck flying over the water, can easilly see the similarity with a group of Viggens flying over the water. Low and fast...

[@iampianoman]

I recall watching a video on laserdisc in the 1990's (yup, just dated myself 😅) about some of the most notable if not best military aircraft of the time, and the Viggen was one of the featured aircraft. What struck me most was it was the only featured aircraft where they explicitly demonstrated taking off and landing on a highway, and camouflaging the aircraft once it parked on the ground. Fascinating aircraft!

[@kyttraus]

I hope the date went smoothly

[@Chriva]

Some say it's been the only craft to ever get a radar lock on SR-71. Not sure I believe the "only" part but the rest has been fairly well documented over the years. They basically used a combination of ground stations and the vehicle's own radar to pull it off. Would love to see the face on the SR-71 pilot(s) 😂 Should hear those birds roar btw. JAS sounds like a chihuahua in comparison :D

[@fluffytoaster2099]

The viggen is one of the most beautiful planes in existence

[@babalawohrg]

Agree, the green camo version is just perfection.

[@DookeyRidr]

Another fun fact: the Viggen was the first fighter jet ever to include a ‘Kalles Kaviar’ roe spread tube dispenser for the pilot.

[@Dirtypandasan]

0:11 Sweden was fine. There was and is Finland between them and Russia but yeah, their fighter jets are very nice.

[@frysbox]

What?

[@Dirtypandasan]

@@frysbox Trouble with reading comprehension?

[@Bruhngus420]

​@@Dirtypandasan he's asking if sweden was fine what was the point in them developing such jets and defensive weaponry in that time

[@benpurcell4935]

Finland at the time was heavily under the influence of the USSR.

[@frysbox]

@@Dirtypandasan trouble with looking at a map?

[@nilstoreveka4238]

Norwegian, attended Scandinavien Academy of Aeronautics 96-98, tested the Viggensimulator at FFA in Stockholm, just love these Swedish aircrafts :)

[@tor2919]

The most underrated technology of the Viggen was the fighter link introduced in the JA37 in the 80’s. Never was nothing like it until the F22 came into service which has a similar link.

[@hankhaney3785]

Nothing "similar" abt the F-22 and that POS !

[@Hoshino_Channel]

@@hankhaney3785least brainwashed patriot

[@hankhaney3785]

@@Hoshino_Channel FACTS, fool !

[@ark-mark1]

It's not a coincidence that swedish are only country who´s jet have scored a kill in Nato exercises at F22 and F35 with a flight of Jas Gripen.

[@hankhaney3785]

@@ark-mark1 ...nice "fairytale"....war conditions are a bit different than harmless NATO exercises.

[@oofman1911]

They really know how to make jets, it's insane how good these are

[@iwyrilja]

Except for the JA variants the HUD was really basic only really showing altitude and an artificial horizon, with the right weapons or a radar lock it would show a range to target cue. The JA-37 was the first to get an internal gun and countermeasures, the earlier variants would have to carry gun and countermeasure pods on the inner wing pylons which sacrificed carrying anti ship missiles and halved air to ground ordnance capable pylons from 4 to 2. When pulling high AoA the RM8A engine would get compressor stalls flaming out the combustion chamber, shutting down the engine which could be a little problematic in for example dogfights.

[@TunjungUtomo]

This makes me want it even more to continue my education in Sweden. Such a fascinating country.

[@sammcbride2464]

The F-4 phantom (not F-16) won that competition and replaced the F-104. Then the F-15 (not F-16) replaced the F-4. This is the air dominance (Mach 2+) class of planes. The F-16 was an effort to create a multi-role plane that was cheaper than the F-15. It met and exceeded all expectations. The extreme maneuverability of the F-16 was an unexpected benefit of the program. They knew it would be good, but it was better than good. If my memory is correct, this is using the same engine as the F-4 phantom.

[@bigstaceinc]

I think it's the f-14 but commercial variant fitted with a swedish afterburner and reverser

[@pkupias]

He was talking about the Air Combat Fighter competition that seeked to replace F-104's from the European NATO allies. The US LWF program was part of that competition. F-16 was selected the winner of the LWF program and also the winner of the Air Combat Fighter competition.

[@sammcbride2464]

@@pkupias Maybe, but the F-104 was decommissioned long before the F-16 was an option. It also does not have the same role at all as the F-16, so I don't see how the F-104 could be anywhere in the conversation.

[@hjalmar4565]

No, he was right. The Viggen was one of the aircraft in the competition to replace the F-104G in Norwegian, Danish, Belgium and Dutch service, but the F-16 won.

[@sammcbride2464]

​@@hjalmar4565 I see. I didn't realize the F-104 was still being used in those countries. It is such an old and poor agility plane. It was fast, but handled like a rock. The US was 2 generations away from the F-104 when the F-16 was developed.

[@bjornakerblom6458]

No mention of the sound it made in this video. A JA37 with its afterburner lit, is for me unforgettable, and the “best” sounding fighter jet engine that I have heard (and felt).

[@peterbockholm3176]

WRONG!!! In this case, we're not talking about a duck. A vigg is an ancient Swedish word for a thunderbolt, as in Thor throws viggs when he's pissed, just like Zeus. In Swedish the -en ending makes it into a specific object, The vigg. Hence Viggen means The Thunderbolt, the predecessor Draken means The Dragon, and the successor Gripen means The Griffin. (the symbol of Saab) A connected word is Åskvigg, åska is the Swedish word for thunder. An åskvigg is "the result" of a vigg hitting the ground, a stone ax with great magical properties. The ancient Nordics (pre-Christianity) believed that the sound of thunder came from Thor driving his battle wagon over the firmament. His two enormous rams, Tanngnjost and Tanngrisner, pulled the wagon. Thor was the mightiest god of them all, just as Zeus was in Greek mythology. If Saab named their first fighter jet The Dragon, do you really think they would name the second after a cute little duck with a couple of feathers on its head? 😂We're the descendants of Vikings, not ornithologists.

[@gisli12]

ROFL😂😂😂

[@xentionX]

@@gisli12 Whats so funny? its legit the meaning of the names.

[@gisli12]

@@xentionX and that's funny

[@RandomName100]

Actually, you're about as wrong as you could be. Draken was NOT named after a dragon. It was literally named for a 'kite' which in Swedish is a 'drake', for the shape as viewed from below. And yes, the 'Viggen' was literally named after a bird, the duck in question. It's official history, no matter what words you combine to make a 'better' story. That the duck in question, was however named as it was with heritage from the very words you tried combining. Read about it.

[@peterbockholm3176]

@@RandomName100 , perhaps you should contact Saab and tell them that the origin of the name Viggen as explained on their website is incorrect? It says the plane was named after åskviggarna and not viggarna, so I was wrong there. But I'm right about the meaning and difference between vigg and åskvigg. They're two different things, one is a stone and the other one is what makes the stone. It's a common mistake and somewhere Saab got confused and named the plane after a stone. It's totally illogical and makes no sense. So as I see it they were also wrong, they didn't think it through all the way. So you're wrong, the bird has nothing to do with the official history. But you're right about Draken, I relied on information that I got from a fighter pilot at F21 in the first half of the 80s, and have never seen a need to question that information. So I'm not as wrong as I could be.

[@CStack2Ci]

Thanks for posting this! I'm also a big fan of the Saab Gripen fighter!!

[@-NiEr]

Check the video: _Military Might Rafale vs Gripen E_ if you are interested in the new Gripen E...

[@CStack2Ci]

@@-NiEr Outstanding, thank you!! I think the Gripen E is superior to the current F-16!

[@-NiEr]

@@CStack2Ci Gripen C has performed very well at Red Flag etc. Check the video: _Gripen - The Forgotten Wars_

[@ap2831381]

Grippen video, please?

[@bjorntorlarsson]

It's name is almost always confused. In Sweden it is Gripen (pronounced with a long ee as "Greepen"). It refers to an ancient legendary creature combining the body of a lion with the head and wings of an eagle. Several spellings for it in English: griffin, griffon or gryphon. I think it's best to use one of those three for the JAS 39.

[@vicolin6126]

@@bjorntorlarsson It is internationally known with its Swedish name, "Gripen". With 1 "P", although every American ever confuses that with 2 P's.

[@Tiaan90]

I live in a town with an old airforce base in Sweden, there's still a museum here, and the actual Viggen cockpit flight simulator used to train pilots can be rented by the hour 😁 The somewhat experienced pilots have a thing they do where they use the Golde Gate Bridge as a runway, start at one of its pillars with full afterburner and go throught the upper square in the next pillar (1300m away)

[@C-y-b-e-r]

Please cover the gripen, its been my favorite plane every since i learned of its existance

[@AQDuck]

I got to ride in a Viggen during one of its last airshow, they had some that where just taxiing around and kids could sit in the cockpit with the pilot. Been in love with it ever since.

[@smmilitarytechnology]

Do a video about the Gripen, too!thanks

[@ollep9142]

Pretty good summary over all. The Viggen was designed primarily as an attack aircraft to replace Lansen, with fighter capability as a secondary role. The primary target for these attack aircraft was expected to be Warsaw Pact invasion fleets in the Baltic Sea, hence the emphasis on anti ship missiles. Attacking over the sea meant flying low, preferably about 5m above the surface. Climbing to 15m (50ft) would be considered flying high.

[@TheSOULBRUVVA]

The low flying height, sounds like a job for the Buckaneer (Blackburn Buckaneer) which was quite expertly flown by the RAF & RN in several scenarios, from setting up a "Toss" usually of a training Nuclear bomb, of the super low level sorties flown in Desert storm, and a Red Flag exercise in the USA

[@firefox5926]

4:59 not to mentions the guns of bofors..

[@TheFrewah]

These 40mm guns shot down kamikaze planes

[@vicolin6126]

The last version of tha JA 37 (D-version) was used as a testbed for the new JAS 39, before the new plane was introduced. So at one point, both planes shared the same internal systems in the cockpit and the like. The JAS 39 Gripen was intruduced as bth an upgrade, and a cost-saving measure. It is smaller than the Viggen, cheaper and can fill all mission roles. Unlike the Viggen, that needed different versions built to perform all tasks required of it.

[@bodan1196]

"Not too expensive...", that is arguable.

[@mynameisschezuan]

Is it? What is cheaper and comparable?

[@bodan1196]

@@mynameisschezuan The 37 system took a big bite from the defence budget, so much so that the navy was significantly reduced. One of the reasons why it wasn't the export success it might have seemed to have the promise to be, besides the usual price dumping and political pressure from the USA, was said to be the price tag. This as I recall it, mind you. I could be wrong... 🙂 While I do not have figures to offer, I have from reading, and listening, the distinct "memory" of it being called a costly acquisition for Sweden. One figure that I _have_ found, is for the first 83+17 Viggens, which were aquired at a cost of 1.56 billion SEK. This was around 1969-70. In todays money that would be (by interesting circumstance) equivalent to around 1.56 billion USD. This would likely also include some of the systems requried for 100 aircraft. Or perhaps it's just for the airframes? I don't know the cost for the early F-16, or the Mirage F-1 which I think were the two main competitors at the time. 1 500 000 000 / 100 = 15 000 000 sek vs usd in 1970 appr. 5.1 1 15 000 000/ 5.1= 2 941 176 So three million USD per airframe in 1970. This sounds a little low(?), so I must have flawed data, math, or memory, or just a flawed mind. 🙂

[@stoyantodorov2133]

@@mynameisschezuan Viggen was expensive. Even more expensive than the Gripen that succeeded it. On the export market the Viggen was directly competing with the F-16A and the price difference was not that big. Naturally, the Viggen never got exported. For SAAB it's always an uphill battle to produce a cheap fighter, because they don't have the economy of scale to push costs down.Sweden has trouble selling aircraft to anyone but themselves because it doesn't have much influence in politics which ultimately decides which country buys what fighter. USA have gone through great lengths to ensure a monopoly in this aspect.

[@E1212-p4j]

one of my old teachers used to fly this during his time in the swedish airforce, he didn't talk about it much because we had school work to do ofc, but i still find it really cool

[@stefankohler3060]

Can you make a video about the german MBB Lampyridae? The USA has forbidden Germany to continue researching it, because the Stealth technology was better than with the F-117A.

[@sc1338]

Suuuure lol the F117 from the 80s? 😂

[@stefankohler3060]

@@sc1338 Look at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBB_Lampyridae The german article is much better. The Project was from the 1980s.

[@zjohn6879]

I first learned about this jet when Heatblur teased it for DCS, and it slowly became my favorite non-US plane. I was stoked to see the thumbnail of this video in my feed!

[@iqbal_pradana]

8:13 the same JT8D as Boeing airliner?

[@mepmop-m610]

Jepp

[@bodan1196]

Saying that it's the "same" would only be true to some degree; but yes, the RM8A/B is derived from the JT8D. Perhaps a statement with a similar truth value, would be to say that; K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider is the same as a standard Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

[@maparic919]

I love driving past luleå and kallex air port and seeing the viggen and draken on display

[@petter5721]

Draken = Dragon Viggen = Thunderbolt Gripen = Griffin

[@-NiEr]

Also : Draken = The Kite

[@fiskmasadventures]

Draken was named from its resemblance with a kite, not a dragon; that's just a convenient word sharing.

[@-NiEr]

​@@fiskmasadventures- And "Viggen" was taken from Åskvigg, not Vigg...

[@BPo75]

@@-NiEr Vigg is the Swedish name for the tufted duck, which in French is canard... which also is the name of the forward wings. SAAB has been keen on wordplays in the names ever since Lansen. Also note that combat aircraft are always in definite form "The Dragon/Kite", while noncombat like the schooling aeroplane SAAB Safir are indefinite.

[@Hoshino_Channel]

The draken was NOT named after dragons, it was named after kites

[@MrLittleswede]

Viggen = Thunderstone Anka = Duck Viggen ≠ Duck

[@craigbeatty8565]

Why is the SR-71 infamous? The Swedes actually escorted a damaged Blackbird at one point.

[@Pouncer9000]

Probably meant notorious, maybe they think infamous is famous but more so, a bit like sane/insane. Blackbirds patrolled the Baltic regularly and SwAF pilots made the most of it, trying to get a radar lock on it. Of course the USAF kept varying times, altitudes and speed to keep them on their toes, all in good fun!

[@bigyeet8905]

I have been next to a viggen engine with afterburner and I can tell you that it is massive like huge. Ive also sat inside The "engine bay" of a decomissioned viggen as have many swedes in my area

[@andreawetter]

As a Swede, I think it was really fun that you made a feature about Viggen. As a young boy, I remember very noisy airplanes over Linköping where they were built. But I also remember that quite a few crashed due to substandard wing spars in the beginning. I have some acquaintances who have flown these machines and done demonstrations. And from what I understand, they appreciated the then very advanced technology. Technology invented by Svergie and Saab that today in mordenized form is used in other aircraft. Looking forward to new videos....

[@ucube33]

You can see it fly occasionally in Sweden, worth taking a look at försvarsmakten/Swedish air force historic flight. They are the ones maintaining the classic jet line up of Swedish jets.

[@Kosmologiikka]

0:15 What do you mean not in a favourable position? Sweden had a whole buffer zone of a country with military power several times of her own while being extremely close allies with all its neighbours. Sweden was the country that took war troughout the Europe for the most part of its history, while staying neutrail, safe and sound. Not counting the Gotland, Sweden has had zero worries about her security.

[@fishyfish6050]

Finlands military was nowehere near as big as the Swedish military. Finland was still very reliant on old equipment, The only modern tanks they had was the T-55s and 54s of which there were a few dozen, the only modern aircraft they had was the few mig 21s they had, Navy was nonexistent. Military spending was minimal and it was also forced to demobilize after the 2nd world war

[@shar3066]

Finland after ww2 was no buffer zone. If russia wanted to invade they would not be stopped in finland, thereof we had 4th biggest airfleet in the world..to deter them,

[@gurglejug627]

I wouldn't go as far as to say zero worries by any means, but what you say has a lot of truth in it.

[@gurglejug627]

​@@fishyfish6050the USSR had a very good treaty, finally, with Finland after the winter war and then their Nazi collusion, all things considered. The Soviets needed a lot that Finland was able to soon provide as a neutral country able to obtain supplies and technology less available to them: both countries did well out of it post war and it would have been foolish for the Soviets to have started any trouble with Finland, as they were well aware. Thus, Finland was a border zone between Sweden and the USSR. Defacto, Russia did not ever attack the West, despite constant illegal fly overs, submarine capers, nuclear armed Western fighters flying to the edge of their airspace regularly, etc. I'm no apologist for the USSR to say the least, but some of the Westerner propagandandists and ranters don't half put things out of proportion.

[@fishyfish6050]

@@gurglejug627 The Treaty was a very uneasy one even after Stalins death its a complete myth that the treaty and relations with the soviet union were all sunshine and rainbows after ww2. Finland was always doing defensive preperations and defensive military excercises such as training to defend itself from coups. The soviets numerous times threatened Finland and there was zero reason for Finland to even see nato as a threat as their relations with the West was much better than the soviets. The Soviets were the ones who forced Finland to acquire Sams and other soviet equipment with an example being the one of the sams were the soviets said something along the lines that if Finland didnt acquire air defence systems they would move into the country and setup air defence systems on Finnish soil, Finland wanting to keep their neutrality and not wanting to potentially end up like the baltics in 1940 decided to buy the new Sam systems. Even with the numerous amount of soviet equipment the Finns knew that the only invasion would come from the east. Sweden was even storing alot of equipment to give it to Finland if they were ever invaded again with the best example being hundreds of J35 fighter jets all being stored in northern Sweden Also the soviets if anything are at fault themselves for literally invading Finland in 1939 as it gave Finland a country who just got invaded with their only defensive line being half occupied and damaged to side with the nazis who just happened to at this time have plans on invading the soviet union. Finland before the invasion was mostly reliant on Swedish, British and French equipment however with France being occupied later, Uk being all alone and unable to send aid due to Norway being occupied and Sweden who just emptied their entire military equipment storage just to send to Finland they only really had a single country they could go to "Russia never attacked the west" Ignore the fact that the soviets in 1981 were literally close to starting a conflict with Sweden when they attempted to retrieve their u137 submarine by force that had gone stuck in Swedish waters carrying nuclear weapons or any of the threats they made to Finland Sure you can criticize Nato for their shit but saying the soviets were any better is simply false. Their military excercises alone literally show them doing offensives instead of digging and building defensive positions and doing anything defensively

[@Shudnawz]

13:19 The STRIL datalink mentioned was the first deployed electronic aerial combat control system in the world, and a part of the STRIL 60 system Sweden used to control its domestic skies. STRIL stands for "STRIdsledning och Luftbevakning", "combat control and aerial surveillance". It (among other things) allowed for electronic data sharing between aircrafts, so that a forward observer plane could guide the missiles of a rear plane beyond its normal radar range, this was called "Jaktlänken".

[@CJFreeza]

The problem these days is that people don't regard jets as the pace setting technology which then trickles down to trucks, cars etc. anymore. It's cell phones now and unwittingly society is becoming more stupid simply because we obsess over dumber things.

[@murdoch9106]

I have only recently really started to realize how special our Swedish metal birds has been over the years, I kinda knew we had good jets and all but only recently learned all the firsts they got and how advanced they really where. The Gripen kicked some proper butt back in 2006 for Swedens first Red Flag event in Alaska, beat the F16 among others... despite being on the red team with reduced AWACS.

[@sc1338]

They’re decent, and perfect for Swedens needs. let’s not get crazy.

[@colbypupgaming1962]

If the maintenence toolkit for that jet doesn’t have a big friggin Allen wrench I'm gonna be disappointed.

[@BPo75]

Sorry mate, the main tool Sven uses is the hammer keeping the turbines aligned during high angle of attack manoeuvres.

[@colbypupgaming1962]

@@BPo75 main tool sure but my headcanon says there's still a selection of Allen wrenches in the kit

[@8rboy]

My friend’s dad was a pilot on one of these during the 90’s and early 2000’s. What a cool fighter!

[@Neo-xn7vc]

Viggen did not chase the SR-71 away. We got a radarlock 2-3 times because we liked to play cat and mouse with the US. Nobody knows If they let us have the radarlock. Why are you lying ? Several times we allowed SR-71 to fly over Sweden. A few times even escorted. Viggen was not the best fighterplane because it was not designed for it. We also had big problems with the engine stalling when we were dogfighting. This was solved on the last versions. When we also got the special version on dogfighting versions. It was a good multirole but not the best fighter ever. Ridicoulous video because it was biased.

[@mattiasdahlstrom2024]

In performance it was OK - where it shone was in its ability to stay viable as an airforce in being; high availability, able to operate dispersed with quick turn-around - this would make the Viggens survive much longer against a numerically superior foe and force the foe to protect all attack missions against Viggen intercepts. Compare with an F-15 with top 15% radar availability and that needs big airbases - that will get knocked out.

[@mattiasneuman7593]

The SR-71 flew in the small international corridor between Öland and Gotland. There is only one known occasion where it flied in swedish aerospace and that was because of an engine failure and that is also the only time that viggen escorted SR-71.

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

I LOVE the Gripen, so a video on that will definitely be welcome.

[@chheinrich8486]

The swedish sure know how to make weapons i bet most of their domestily built warships are even better than some american ships of similar tonage

[@HellbirdIV]

I think that might be true but not because American ships are bad, rather because here in Sweden we can build our ships for a specific purpose. We don't need a blue water expeditionary capability, we have the Baltic Sea and the North Sea coastline to defend and that's it, so we can make small, light ship specialized for that purpose. The US ships of similar tonnage are Coast Guard vessels and small support ships for fleet groups on the other, neither of which are expected to fight a defensive war on their own.

[@JHS270694]

​@@HellbirdIVSo its more different military doctrines and conforming to those needs than it is about any perceived manufacturing flaw/limits in either country's military industrial complex. I could've worded the above a bit better but I'm being lazy.

[@TOGade-dj6jh]

Sweden and Finland have always been great allies, even today. I’ve had the honor to sit in the cockpit of a Draken, a Viggen, and a JAS. My brother in law is a captain in the air force here in Sweden. So he took us on a tour of the base, it was awesome. The sheer technology of the missiles is astounding. 👍🏻🇸🇪

[@Waltgen]

I didn't chase away the SR-71, it assisted it protecting it from the Russians

[@BackyardEngineering123]

NICK! I'd love to see more videos on planes that actually got produced. Also would love to see videos about engines. Either prototype or ones actually produced

[@BackyardEngineering123]

Also where is an updated video of ste sr72 now that it's been officially released