"Reinforces our long-term commitment to Latin America," said Micael Johansson, encapsulating the intent behind a new framework for adding 20 Gripen E/F fighters at Embraer's Gavião Peixoto final assembly line in Brazil.
The framework and what it authorizes
Saab and Embraer signed a Heads of Agreement at the Farnborough International Airshow that sets a framework for producing 20 additional Gripen E/F fighters at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto complex in São Paulo. The agreement expands an existing industrial partnership rather than constituting a fresh aircraft order, and neither company has named a customer for the potential tranche. The partners intend to conclude a corresponding production agreement during 2026.
How production would be organised
Under the framework, Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto site — currently the only Gripen final assembly location outside Sweden — would take on the extra aircraft alongside Saab’s primary line in Linköping. Embraer already assembles 15 of the 36 Gripens Brazil ordered in 2014; the proposed 20-aircraft tranche would therefore roughly double Brazilian output, lifting it from 15 towards 35 aircraft. A person within Saab said the company may ultimately need three Gripen E/F production lines, including Gavião Peixoto and Linköping, to meet projected export demand.
Industrial integration and skills transfer
The framework builds on an industrial partnership that matured in March 2026, when Saab, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force unveiled the first supersonic Gripen assembled in Brazil at Gavião Peixoto. Brazilian engineers, pilots and technicians have been trained in Sweden, and aerostructures for the Brazilian jets are produced at Saab’s plant in São Bernardo do Campo. Both companies cited Gavião Peixoto’s experienced workforce and available capacity as reasons for the proposed expansion, and Embraer’s chief executive Bosco da Costa Junior said the expanded partnership reflected a decade of cooperation and left the company “well positioned to support increased production capacity, if demand requires it.”
Export potential and regional sales
Both Saab and Embraer have positioned Gavião Peixoto to support international programs alongside Brazilian orders, framing the expansion as a next phase that would deepen Brazil’s role from assembling its own fleet to potentially building aircraft for export customers. Embraer has said the Gavião Peixoto line could support Saab’s export sales to new buyers across Latin America. The framework follows an indication from the Brazilian government of a potential order for 20 more Gripen E/F fighters.
Beyond Brazil, the Gripen’s export base has widened in recent years: the source notes Colombia agreed in 2025 to acquire 17 Gripen E/F aircraft and Ukraine ordered 16 new-build jets. Saab described the framework as securing additional capacity for future business and reinforcing its long-term commitment to the region.
How Embraer, Saab, and the Brazilian Air Force are poised to respond
- Embraer: With existing assembly experience and local workforce capacity at Gavião Peixoto, Embraer is positioned to scale production if the demand materializes and a production agreement is signed during 2026.
- Saab: The company is preserving dual-line flexibility (Linköping and Gavião Peixoto) to support simultaneous build in Sweden and Brazil and has flagged the potential need for up to three production lines to meet export demand.
- Brazilian Air Force: Having participated in the March 2026 unveiling of a supersonic Gripen assembled locally, the air force remains embedded in the industrial partnership and would be a direct beneficiary should domestic procurement proceed from the government’s indicated potential order.
The framework is pragmatic: it institutionalizes capacity rather than obliges immediate deliveries. The next concrete milestone named by the partners is the signing of a production agreement in 2026. If that agreement is concluded and buyers emerge, Gavião Peixoto would shift further from a national assembly line into an export-capable manufacturing hub, moving Brazil from assembler of its own jets toward a producer for other air forces as well.
