SAAB J 35 Draken "The Kite/Dragon" | Swedish Supersonic Fighter Interceptor With A Futuristic Design

The story of the Saab 35 Draken and the Saab 37 Viggen.
the Saab 35 Draken is a Swedish fighter interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air force's future replacement for the then also in developed Saab 29 Tunnan day fighter and Saab 32B Lansen night fighter. It featured an innovative but unproven double delta wing, which led to the creation of a sub-scale test aircraft, the Saab 210, which was produced and flown to test this previously-unexplored aerodynamic feature. The full-scale production version entered service with frontline squadrons of the Swedish Air Force on 8 March 1960. It received the designation Flygplan 35 (Fpl 35; 'Aeroplane 35') and was produced in several variants and types, most commonly as a fighter type with the prefix J (J 35), standing for Jaktflygplan (Pursuit-aircraft), the Swedish term for fighter aircraft.
SAAB 37 VIGGEN
The Saab 37 Viggen (Swedish for "the Bolt" or "the Tufted Duck" (see name)Nb 1 is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range multirole combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following the selection of a radical delta wing configuration, the resulting aircraft performed its first flight on 8 February 1967 and entered service on 21 June 1971. It was the first canard design produced in quantity and arguably the most modern/advanced combat aircraft in Europe at the time of introduction, featuring an airborne digital central computer with integrated circuits for its avionics, the world's first of its kind, automating and taking over tasks previously requiring a navigator/copilot, facilitating handling in tactical situations where, among other things, high speeds and short decision times determined whether attacks would be successful or not, a system not surpassed until the introduction of the Panavia Tornado into operational service in 1981.
Saab 35 Draken General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 sq ft)
Airfoil: 5%
Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)
Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Svenska Flygmotor RM6C afterburning turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.3
Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,710 mi, 1,480 nmi) with external drop tanks
Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)
Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m2 (47.4 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.7
Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)
Armament
Guns: 1× or 2× 30 mm akan m/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun (in Saab 35F one cannon was omitted (with 120 rounds) to fit avionics needed for Falcon missile integration,[28] earlier variants and export variants retained twin guns.)
Hardpoints: six for ordnance, or drop tanks on the bottom two hardpoints, with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets: 2× 75 mm air-to-ground rocket pods ventrally or 12× 135 mm rockets on six underwing pylons
Missiles: RB 24, RB 27 and RB 28 air-to-air missiles
Bombs: The Danish export version, (F-35), was modified according to NATO standards and was fitted with 1,000lb bomb hardpoints
Saab 37 Viggen General characteristics
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
Height: 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 46 m2 (500 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,500 kg (20,944 lb)
Gross weight: 16,439 kg (36,242 lb) (AJ37 17,000 kg (37,479 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 19,274 kg (42,492 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Volvo RM8B afterburning turbofan, 72.1 kN (16,200 lbf) thrust dry, 125 kN (28,000 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 2,231 km/h (1,386 mph, 1,205 kn) at 36,100 ft (11,003 m)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
Ferry range: 1,820 km (1,130 mi, 980 nmi) internal fuel only
Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 203 m/s (40,000 ft/min)
Armament
Guns: 1 × 30 mm Oerlikon KCA cannon with 125 rounds
Hardpoints: 9 (three hardpoints under fuselage and three under each wing) with a capacity of 7,000 kg (15,000 lb), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Missiles:
4 x RB99 AMRAAM (JA 37D),
2 x RB71 Skyflash (only JA37),
6 x AIM-9 Sidewinder
4 rocket pods (135 mm, 5.4 in).
U95 ECM pod (JA 37D)
2 x RB 04
2 x RBS 15
2 x Rb 05
#aircraft #viggen #draken

[@Dronescapes]

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions: www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes

[@Swedish_Boi_Main]

saab also made cars, and shut down in 2010

[@kaboom-zf2bl]

ahh so the first dracon production plane flew about 1958 ... and the arrows first flight was in 57 ... no the arrow did NOT have any prototypes all were production run aircraft ... cooke -craige method direct to production without prototyping ... nice view of parallel development

[@lightbox617]

This is an "Elder" jet plane. I don't care as much about speed, altitude and maneuverability. This was one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.

[@bastadimasta]

Mach 2.3 speed, 20000 meters altitude and pretty good maneuverability. It surpasses most modern jets in these respects.

[@erikreuterskiold5996]

Rated to 30G, first to perform the cobra maneuver

[@myMotoring]

it still got the speed, altitude and maneuverability

[@martinwinther6013]

add ruggednes, easy maintainance and the ability to be launched from anything that isnt a swamp

[@rickpierre5296]

@@myMotoring UFO

[@ricdale7813]

One of the most futuristic designs ever. After 65 years its lines are still Sci Fi inspiring.

[@ry0usama511]

I remember there's an anime that used this jet as reference, literally named Draken too, perhaps Macross

[@TheDeroncain]

Area 88, I think? I know it was in the Manga, havnt watched the Anime in a while.

[@mixchief]

Yeah, it would fit in pretty well in the Star Wars movies.

[@kaboom-zf2bl]

yup ranks second to the avro arrow which flew its first production flight in 57 ... and just like this fighter with the wrong engine installed too ... . NO the arrow did NOT have any prototype it was the cooke craige method plan direct to production tooling ... 201 to 237 were all production line aircraft ... even though 5 flew and 6 were flyable .... there were 37 of them on the line on the day of cancellation

[@derekedwards5817]

Actually looks more like a VIPER from Battlestar Galactica than an F 16 😏

[@3x4n.]

the requirements were absolutely brutal, but somehow the Swedish geniuses still pulled it off, mad respect.

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

In Austria 🇦🇹 Europe we had the Saab Draken too. What a beautiful plane. Very often I could see them landing here in Linz/Hörsching! There is still one on display not far where I live. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹!

[@CorvusCorax.]

It's really amazing that a small nation like Sweden is able to develop top notch fighters.

[@marcushillerstrom25]

My favourite airplane! As a Swede I like all the Swedish airplanes from Tunnan to Gripen, but the 35 is just so beautiful. You can sit in its cockpit in the Flygvapenmuseum in Linköping and they still fly one in air shows. When I was a kid they regularly flew by in tandem every now and then until they were replaced by my second favourite the 37 Viggen. Today you see the 39 Gripen sometimes, but not nearly as often as you saw the 35s and later the 37s.

[@Sep-jk3vi]

It was a ridicoulously advanced design. It's aerodynamic properties were matched by american and soviet planes only in the 70s. This thing would eat anything that came before mig 29 and su 27 or anything older than F14/15/16. Absolutely astonishing considering it's a late 40s early 50s design.

[@andersmalmgren6528]

Sweden had 7 million people during the 50s. Pretty cool we could make a plane like this. :D

[@BustaHymen]

Regarding the teething problems of the 37, one isn't mentioned - the yaw instability in mach 1+. The FC prototype showed these tendencies, and the Saab engineers had to solve it. They gathered in the small village of Rimforsa out of Linköping and stayed there until they figured it out. They came up with "rimforsabulan" (the Rimforsa bulb) which can be clearly seen in the footage. In the first flight, there is a black dorsal panel flush with the fuselage. Later revisions have a "humpback" where that panel was situated, if memory serves it was replaced due to the area rule.

[@tor2919]

One of the many things that strike me about the Saab Draken is that it doesn’t look as dated as its contemporaries. Planes from the same era like the Electric Lightning look very old now (still love the lightning to death) whereas the Draken looks quite modern. And even though the Draken was made to intercept high speed high altitude bombers it proved to be a capable fighter also at low altitude. All thanks to that versatile double delta!

[@no-nonseplayer6612]

Because IT was supposed to Be rebuilt in early 90 as modern fighter

[@Heddanofarsan]

When it came flying together with Viggens it appeared very dated tho. The sound was compared to Viggens powerful sound more like a high pitched old vacuum cleaner.

[@no-nonseplayer6612]

@@Heddanofarsan viggen was lot More modern plane but not as succsesful unfortunately

[@stevenh.5181]

The Draken was doing the Cobra maneuver 40yrs before the Su-27 was made .😉😉🤭🤭🤭

[@peter486]

Draken still has an incredibly cool appearance! However, it's interesting to note that Draken was also designed to serve as a delivery platform for nuclear weapons. Not many people are aware of this fact. Yes, during the late 1950s and 1960s, we possessed the capability to create nuclear bombs and required suitable platforms for delivering small-yield Nukes , but in the end we descided not to. Back in my childhood, I vividly recall witnessing an entire fleet of these aircraft being relocated to a new airbase. Most of these planes flew directly over us, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle. It was so astonishing that we could even see the pilots in the cockpit as they passed by. im super proud what saab has created and other swedish companys has manged to design for the past 100 years. the list is long.

[@nilselgenstierna3282]

Sorry, the J35 was not designed to carry nuclear weapons but the AJ37 (Viggen) was. Just check the landing gear of Viggen. The nuclear bomb project in Sweden was halted in 1971 ( just ahead of Viggen becoming operational in 1972) and the fissiable material produced was sold to UK.

[@atrothe]

Those swedes are very very clever. They just keep making great stuff.

[@Coyote27981]

Beautiful plane, i had it as a model when i was a kid, next to a mirage III.

[@carlandersson4982]

Someone may have pointed it out earlier but Drake in swedish means both dragon and kite. And the draken is named after the later.

[@pierrevargen]

Letade efter den här kommentaren och hoppades på att jag inte behövde peka ut det

[@carlandersson4982]

@@pierrevargen ingnorance is bliss som puckona säger.

[@pflaffik]

Its less dangerous than a kite too, in Libya they couldnt get a single Saab in this he air the first weeks, F16's from Norway had to fly all the swedish missions. Its still the biggest failure to perform in modern military history, swedish airforce and Saab is still the biggest joke.

[@Jonathan-oe5vz]

⁠@@pflaffikWhat is your source about this? I found that Sweden sent 8 JAS 39 (Gripen) to Libya, a completley different aircraft, altough I never found anything regarding their poor performance. It is true that they were grounded and had to be delayed, but that was due to a lack of suffient fuel and not the performance of the aircraft.

[@user-fp2gr4ic3x]

@@pflaffik Rubbish

[@henrikl1394]

Unskilled Personal? We got a long education on the Aircraft! So we did the rearming and fueling under 10 min! And You called us UNSKILLED!

[@jihadalsaied1140]

I was very close to the honor of working within the Gripen Aircraft Factory. Unfortunately, the language barrier prevented me from my dream of contributing to the power of Sweden, that great country that embraced me and my family.

[@anonymous-hz2un]

Is swedish that difficult to lesrn?

[@boreopithecus]

@@anonymous-hz2unIt’s not hard to “learn” if you already know English, but if you’re going to be working for a Swedish military contractor you probably need to learn it really, really well which is a different matter.

[@Ea-pb2tu]

@@boreopithecus If you hold dual citizenship, especially from a less then friendly country, I'd imagine that theyd have further objections to your involvement. It's unfair but practical.

[@stimpen12]

The Tunnan, Swedish word for barrel, looks just as intimidating as a barrel. However, if you ever go to an air show in Sweden where they have the Tunnan, you have to watch it. It's really cool to see it live and think about what era it was in active duty and what other nations had back then.

[@harryp829]

No hate but as a swede I can’t help but notice how you spelled the aircraft. You should have spelled just “tunnan” or if you want to add a “the” you should remove the n in tunnan and spell “The tunna”, as the N in the end of the word is the same thing as putting a “the” in the beginning. Swedish can be complicated and it’s a small misspelling but can be confusing for some people. Once again I am not angry but I know some people can be.

[@zkybixd]

@@harryp829 🤓

[@user-pk9qh2cx1u]

@@harryp829 As a swede I must disagree. "The Tunnan fighter" is the correct way.

[@harryp829]

@@user-pk9qh2cx1u It’s grammar. It can be complicated. The name of the fighter is “Tunnan” as in “the barrel”. The n at the end of tunnan is the same as the “the” in the beginning so when you mash them together (the tunnan) it becomes weird. But the grammar of the name can of course have been twisted in the past explaining all this. It would sound weird to spell “the huset” wouldn’t it? Have I explained myself?

[@user-pk9qh2cx1u]

@@harryp829 I am from Sweden. It is the same with Gripen. Normally people say "Compared to THE Gripen fighter, the F35 has a smaller RCS." The "en" in Gripen is the same as the "the". Otherwise it would be "the Grip" fighter. The thing is that it is the name. Not the word. The name is "Tunnan", "Viggen", "Gripen". Not the words "Tunna", Vigg", "Grip".

[@darkknight1340]

Imo,the Draken was the most beautiful jet fighter yet created.

[@marcbrasse747]

Great work. Information about this airplane has always been a bit scarce. It's great to see the holes filled at last.

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Thunder_6278]

Damn, Saab just knows how to design cool looking fighter jets. Best part, easy to maintain and can take off from any 4,000 ft. roadway.

[@littlebritain64]

Viggen, Draken... Pure Genius and astonishing design...

[@robwalsh9843]

When a Cold War era aircraft looks like an advanced futuristic interceptor.

[@b.elzebub9252]

13:30 I'm pretty sure that's a Mirage III?

[@sirspikey]

Really good litte documentary about SAAB and Draken. Definitely one of the better I've seen. The Tunnan means the Barrel

[@BustaHymen]

I truly enjoyed this, one of the best documentaries I've seen on YT for a long time! Draken though, has as well as Viggen two different meanings in Swedish - either "the dragon" or "the kite". I read somewhere the plane is named after the kite because of it's shape. No idea if that is true, nor do I know if Viggen is named after a thunderbolt or a duck. Cool planes either way, especially since my uncle used to fly both of them ;)

[@theTruB]

Draken means either The Kite or The Dragon in swedish, its looks like a kite.

[@BustaHymen]

@@theTruB Eeeh, yes... as stated above. Albeit in reverse order, but all the same.

[@johanfinndahl5233]

According to designer Erik Bratt, the correct translation is the kite and not dragon.

[@anderstroberg3704]

Yep, that's correct. The proper translation is "kite". Likewise, one of its predecessors, Tunnan, is translatable as both meanings of "barrel", but it means, in that case, barrel as in "wine barrel".

[@74Darkman]

I have read the responses...and as a swede without "googling" i would confidently say that even if the "Draken" would directly translate to "The Dragon", in this case i would easily define it as "The Kite". In this case the word "Draken" directly translates to the definate article of "Dragon"...but it has multiple meanings. Either it is a "dragon" or a "kite". To me it is very obvious that it has to be "The Kite" (not very military macho) just because the shape of the airplane very much resembles a triangular Kite. But...to most swedes, i honestly thing they think of a "Dragon" due to the name. Then again most swedes would not think about the actual form etc. Then about the "Viggen". I have read some replies with different inputs....imho there is only one very obvious meaning = "Thundebolt".

[@SPavlo]

Thanks for teaching me that Swedish Drakens, not soviet Sukhois inaugurated the "cobra" maneuver !

[@jamesabernethy7896]

This recently came up for me. I'm neither an aircraft fan or a military man but I do watch a lot of varied videos. This one was really enjoyable.

[@DeadAndAliveCat]

I absolute love how your Swedish pronunciation ("flygvapen" or "Linköping" or "kronor", etc) got noticably better every time you said those words lmao (not throwing shade, I know our language is an oratory catastrophe to those who didn't learn it from birth, not even our own queen can speak it correctly)

[@chloeew4627]

Older fighter , fantastic performance and the greatest name ever 😊❤

[@RootzRockBand]

This jet is just amazing, ahead of it time, and such a beautiful looking airframe. Kudos to the Swedes. It would be great if they made a modern version with modern electronics and upgrades. It sounds like even the old tech was formidable. The fact that it was the first to do the cobra maneuvers is brilliant as well. How phenomenal it would have been to be a pilot of one of these for Sweden during its active time In service.

[@titanuranus3095]

I would translate it as "the kite" rather than "the dragon", its the same word, but I think it is named for its kitelike shape.

[@calebshuler1789]

Swedes are so under-appreciated people

[@albertvanderheiden7419]

They support Hitler with iron ore in ww2 and keep the war going.

[@sambassil7825]

They’re smart but they’re aloof and bitter.

[@sambassil7825]

They’re smart but they’re aloof and bitter.

[@sambassil7825]

They’re smart but they’re aloof and bitter.

[@sambassil7825]

They’re smart but they’re aloof and bitter.

[@MrMarukas86]

Very futuristic looking fighter. Looks like it came from star wars. Im sure it can do at least 9 parsecs in space 😀

[@BustaHymen]

From what I've heard Luke Skywalker is pretty tiny, he would do well in the cramped cockpit. They're on display around here, and they are really claustrophobic

[@marko2710]

Its just so cool and beautiful.

[@JH-lo9ut]

The footage and musical score around 30:00 (high altitude flying) is so cool! The pilot's helmet looks awesome! Really interesting avantgarde electronic music. This feels like something out of "2001: a space oddysey" Also, the Saab 96 automobile that's seen in some clips is a nice time stamp. Yes, it was quite an odd little car for it's time, but it's still a reference point to what a high-tech beast Draken was.

[@andersmalmgren6528]

And this was several years before that movie :D

[@vinterante]

Actually, it is J 35 "The KIte", because she sort of looks like a kite. The confusion probably comes from that Swedish word "draken" translates to both "the dragon and the kite".

[@vonholdinghausen6886]

The wife of one of the chiefdesigners apparantly exclaimed "Ohh, it looks like a kite!" the first time she saw it in the air. Hence: "J 35 The Kite" or "J 35 Draken", in swedish.

[@tim1polman]

Its the same in German. "Drachen" means kite and dragon aswell.

[@christiancruz4533]

❤. The fighter. Great vid !!!🎉 thx

[@Dronescapes]

Thank you

[@johanmolin3213]

The Lansen was designed as a naval attack plane, with the Air-To-Sea Rb04 missiles. Only late , a night fighter version was built. Also, the whole film sort of skips by the vital air-to-sea missions that was vital for not only the Lansen, but later on the Viggen and the Gripen as well. Today, a developed version of the Rb15 missile is carried.

[@valeriobertucci6159]

beautiful plane

[@VidarRapp]

"Tunnan" means "The barrel" in Swedish, just thought I should add that little nugget of information to this excellent video. :)

[@laddtryck]

beautiful, have a picture of it on a wall in the livingroom

[@farzadsaremi66]

I love it thanks 🙏🙏👍👍

[@ursus9104]

The engineers at Saab, many of whom were educated at German universities before the war and spoke fluent German, were given after WW2 access to technical documentation and drawings that the Allies had rejected because they were in German. This, in combination with the fact that they also succeeded in recruiting a number of prominent German engineers, meant that Saab, among others, received a crash course in how to develop successful fighter aircraft. From this it followed that Saab immediately began to develop winged planes as early as 1947 and that it was possible to buy in advanced engine technology from England and the USA, which contributed to the advanced jet planes that were produced during the 1940s until today.

[@maninredhelm]

I wish the nations of the world would just agree that wars will be fought based on the beauty of the vehicles.

[@moottori_paa]

Remember very well sound of Draken's, it is very diffirent than other fighters. I live'd 40km from military practice landing strip when i was kid.

[@scottd9448]

I'm so glad I got to see them fly a few times at RAF Mildenhall.

[@kungsverige1886]

'The sound' of my youth...I grown up nearly a air base🇸🇪

[@pottuvoi2]

A lovely plane with amazing voice. Saw these flying over Tikkakoski back in the days. There is couple of them in Finnish Air Force Museum.

[@billpugh58]

Saw two doing Aeros in 2002! Brilllllllliant.

[@Gsoda35]

did I just watch an early science fiction movie at 23:27 or was that something else? fantastic video!

[@user-ku8lz8ke7z]

Terrific fighter!

[@mochabear88]

dope ty

[@johndyson4109]

I've never seen any product coming from Sweden that was of poor quality... The Sweds. were the first to developed the Cobra maneuver ...

[@nacerkhamou3149]

awesome❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@anglumangsiklista]

Nice aircraft 😊

[@fattmouth7715]

Nice video 💯

[@Dronescapes]

Thanks 💯

[@gusgone4527]

SAAB are superb and their aircraft specifically tailored to the needs of Sweden.

[@charlestryor3433]

Super cool plane. Ahead of it's time.

[@garywillis9528]

Similar in concept to the F106. That aircraft served as the US interceptor into the 80's. They used a high pressure air compressor for engine starts. Delta wing aircraft were out of vouge for awhile until the F16 XL but not adopted.

[@kitbag9033]

The French have, almost continuously, maintained delta wing Mirage and Rafale in service since the 1950s

[@johnnordqvist6081]

we need to pull some drakens out of storage to fight the gang violence going on the last few weeks. over all really cool video =)

[@ethancampbell2422]

Between 12:00 and 13:39 there are surprise guest appearances from a Mirage III, and it seems, M. Marcel Dassault himself.

[@AbbStar1989]

Imagine what it would have been like to see the curvature of the Earth all those years ago. What sight!

[@johankaewberg8162]

Lance, Dragon, Lightning, Griffon. SAAB has a good way of naming their products.

[@laddtryck]

aaaand the BARREL!

[@RandomName100]

Actually Lance, Kite, Tufted Duck, Griffon and Barrel.

[@johankaewberg8162]

@@RandomName100 Swedish person: Tunnan, Lansen, Draken, Viggen, Gripen. Now go sit down and try not to interpret Swedish for a while. (Tufted duck, what the hell?!) (PS. Sorry I got insulted. ”Viggen” can indeed be a duck. It can also mean “Bolt of Lightning”. Which of those meanings applies to a Mach 2 fighter??)

[@RandomName100]

@@johankaewberg8162 Lots of assumptions there. First of all, I’m Swedish as well, so I’m pretty sure I’m as qualified as you to interpret. Should be evident by the facts too. And while tufted duck isn’t really that appropriate for a fighter yet, lightning is in/fact straight up an incorrect translation of Viggen. The word certainly are related, but it’s not a correct translation.

[@johankaewberg8162]

@@RandomName100 Yeah, Bolt would be better.

[@peterh.1521]

At many places, like 2:22, the word "flygvapen" just means "air force". I like the video, it is interesting with aircraft history.

[@DornishVintage]

First to achieve supersonic flight without boost. First to achieve supersonic flight in a *climb* with afterburner.

[@BustaHymen]

Oh, and FC, as seen on a few fins of the airplanes reads out FörsöksCentralen (Proving Grounds I guess is reasonable analogy), where the airforce tried out the prototypes. Area 51 if you will, but in Linköping.

[@Ronnymikkonen2686]

When I was a kid I saw draken , two of them flying by, ? I was little disappointed? I wanted to see the Viggen! But when I got older I liked to see them all, because i had learned that draken was fast as anything, .

[@michaelmay5453]

Those highway runs are still possible with the Gripen and landing spots are pretty much all over the nation as are secret stations that are cloaked areas shielded in areas that are not considered secure areas but rather all over, including in some neighbourhoods. We also have FRST at any time for immediate deployment.

[@pflaffik]

No need to land when they cannot take off, like in the joint operations in Libya. And when they get if off the ground it break in two parts. Greatest failure in military aviation history.

[@RandomName100]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@pflaffikHow about doing a little research on aviation accidents in other nato countries airplanes. You will find surprising numbers of similar incidents with other aircraft.

[@c99kfm]

Drake = either dragon or kite. It's quite plausible the original naming was not from it roaring like a dragon, but from the shape seen from below looking like a kite, particularly while the developers were experimenting with paper models...

[@harryhanly1609]

Looks like a star fighter

[@mattiasbjorklund9520]

"Draken" would in this context be translated to "The Kite", since the planform's similarity to a kite.

[@Reegan86]

Anyone else notice the French Mirage fighter in the b-roll 🤦‍♂️

[@mattiaslange731]

Draken partly means dragon but is the same word for kait in Swedish. Why I don't know but one hypothesis is that sailors brought the first kaits that looked like the mythological dragon from China long ago and since then the word has had double meanings. The engineers at SAAB named the aircraft after its appearance, which looked like a kite. Otherwise, I remember the aircraft from my childhood when they often flew over the farm I come from, and I also think that the aircraft is one of the most beautiful in competition with the English Spitfire.

[@mixchief]

31:03 Aircraft demonstrations can not be more sophisticated than this. 😛 There are some hints of Kraftwerk and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[@aaronsanborn4291]

Loved the Draken playing Ace Combat Zero.

[@pelimies1818]

What is the stall speed for Dragen? 400 knots? :D

[@AZ0986688]

The Viggen was even prettier, I think!:)

[@Sknasen]

WOW!!!!

[@s.marcus3669]

"Surveillance" is called "reconnaissance" in the military nomenclature. Other than a few other grammatical errors, an excellent documentary and well-narrated.

[@LarsOestreicher]

The Draken is actually a quite small air craft when compared both to Lansen and the later Viggen. If you see the three together, Draken is almost "petite" in comparison. In a way Draken is "THE Swedish Fighter" as I think of it, having seen them flying overhead quite often when I was a child.

[@johndyson4109]

That's AMAZING! A radar lock on a SR-71! KOOL BEANS! A Swedish person designed the SR-71 Kelly Johnson...lol The Sweads' have designed some of the best planes ever....

[@akhtarnadeem621]

Very Very Nice !

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you like it!

[@tobbex7372]

Every wednesday, they had practise over my home as a child.

[@user-sp3xt6wk1x]

i see a very advanced design that deserves a chance at stealth...a working one sold for 300,000. us recently here in North America.

[@rectalvapor2234]

I probably has been been pointed out already, but you do have a clip of Mirage III:s rolling out and taking of while referring to them as J35 Draken (13:28 - 13:39).

[@harri9885]

...and it took a finnjävel to break the superstall :)

[@V1ntrez]

just a note, although draken translates as the dragon, its meant to be "the kite" which shares the same word in swedish. the kite because, well, it looks like a kite.

[@Dronescapes]

Thanks for the comment, however the same consideration has been posted many times before. It might also be that the aimed for both meanings. As many things, it is up for debate. I suggest you to read what everyone else has to say about it.

[@Karl_Sebastian]

"The Kite" is the correct translation, the confusion comes because the Swedish word for the toy is the same as the word for the fictional animal.

[@haroldmclean3755]

We have to do what we have to do,, 👍

[@iettord3124]

They had a few helping hands from German speaking Aero engineers that got "available" after 1945. They have never been recognized by SAAB or the Swedish government.

[@tomas5255]

Who? Name them if you really know that.

[@kungfreddie]

Yea... I'm sure allied power were happy to.just give away highly valued ppl to a neutral country. In Switzerland u had alot of hiding germans... in sweden.. not so much. Bcoz when the war was lost crossing the baltic sea to sweden for a german ship was a non starter. Also, these engineers would get a much better deal with usa. And that would get them far away from russia. Probably the biggest fear for nazi members. Sweden bought some engines that were mostly shit from Germany during the war for the j21... thats about it to my knowledge.. but plz, name them!

[@RandomName100]

Not really. However the SAAB engineers where to some degree part of exchanges and some where educated in Germany prior to the war, and of that generation in Sweden all highly fluent in German. So they got access to a lot of technical documents in German that allied engineers had discarded as ‘uninteresting’ and or hard to decipher. That helped a bit.

[@rob379lqz]

The Slobs were crude, yet useful.

[@tinhead1112]

The similiaritys of the Eurofighter to the Gripen are uncanny.

[@Tsar_Alexander4]

As a Swede, I am proud to be from a country that's protected by dorito planes😊

[@jonathandelacruz9154]

Looks like a the ship gradius

[@no-nonseplayer6612]

Fun fact in finnish service some finnish conscript engineer but in acciddnt mig21 enhine in Draken and tvat kinda did give more life in draken

[@me3moo2]

The first ever King of the Cobra

[@Heddanofarsan]

"Draken" is pronounced with an "A" like in "BAR" or "hardware", "Lard". In my childhood I lived in the least populated area in south Sweden where Draken and Viggen were flewn all the time. And most swedes today don't know that during the cold war, 600 swedish pilots died during reconnoisance or training. I remember one morning when my friends had seen a Viggen engine at the side of the road from the schoolbus.

[@RandomName100]

They trained as if it was war every time they went up. They were on first name basis with treetops surrounding the bases. Bad ass.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

SAAB ❤

[@johndavid5618]

"" Call apon. ""The English lightining.