Overview
- Saab showed a full‑scale A3‑001 model at its Linköping display, with multiple outlets reporting the public reveal on Aug. 21 and 22 ahead of the Jubilee Air Show.
- The company describes the A3‑001 as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft meant to operate alongside Gripen E to carry sensors, electronic‑warfare payloads and precision weapons into highly contested airspace.
- Saab says it is building stepped demonstrators (A1 then A2 feeding A3) and is targeting a first demonstrator flight in roughly 18 months with demonstrator activity before 2030 to inform later decisions.
- The mockup shows low‑observable shaping, a tailless/blended‑body planform and an internal weapons bay, and reporting notes early demonstrators may use an F414‑family engine but no final engine choice or full specifications have been confirmed.
- Key program elements remain unresolved: Saab has not disclosed funding, a customer, or a firm procurement commitment and Sweden’s defence agency FMV has not publicly tied the new model to its earlier study contracts, so the work should be seen as early, company‑led demonstrator development rather than an approved buy.