[Development] Squadron vehicles: JAS39D — Twin-Seater Gripen 新闻-War Thuner

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Squadron vehicles: JAS39D — Twin-Seater Gripen

2026 年 3 月 11 日 Development

The JAS39D is a later modification of the Swedish Gripen, incorporating the upgrades from the JAS39C with a twin-seater cockpit to facilitate training missions while not compromising on combat capability.

JAS39D: A Squadron Vehicle Jet Fighter for Sweden at Rank VIII

At a glance:

Twin-seat cockpit
Cannon dismantled
Excellent flight characteristics
Versatile arsenal
Incredible number of countermeasures (with BOL pods installed)

As the Cold War ended, Sweden’s military doctrine gradually began shifting from strict neutrality toward increased international cooperation and NATO interoperability. This transition drove the development of the modernized Saab JAS 39C variant, which incorporated in-flight refueling capability, upgraded avionics, improved radar as well as compatibility with NATO weapons and communication systems. Parallel to the development of the C modification, Saab also began work on a two-seat counterpart, the JAS 39D, which was intended to replace the earlier B model.

While primarily intended for operational conversion training, the JAS39D retained full combat capability, allowing it to perform air defense, strike, and reconnaissance missions alongside single-seat aircraft. Because of the second cockpit, it carried slightly less internal fuel than the JAS39C, but it gained value in complex mission profiles where a weapons systems officer could manage sensors, electronic warfare, and communications. Overall, around 30 JAS39D’s have been produced, serving not only with Sweden, but also several other countries’ air forces such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand and South Africa.

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Introducing the JAS39D!

In today’s devblog, we would like to showcase a unique modification of the JAS39 stemming from the later generations of this incredibly capable Swedish multirole jet fighter. Being developed in parallel to the JAS39C which seasoned Swedish pilots are most familiar with, the JAS39D expands the Gripen family in War Thunder by introducing a special twin-seater version as a new squadron aircraft available in the Ninth Wave major update. That being said, let’s dive right into the details!

The JAS39D represents a further development of the successful Gripen series of Swedish jet fighters. Equipped with the same RM12 afterburning turbofan engine powering the earlier Gripen fighters, the slightly heavier twin-seater JAS39D promises very comparable flight characteristics shaped by excellent maneuverability and lightning fast top speeds reaching up to Mach 2. As such, the JAS39D can easily be thrown into dogfights with most other contemporary jet fighters found at the top ranks!

Where the JAS39D truly shines however, is in its expanded selection of onboard weapons and systems compared to the earlier modifications of the Gripen. Unlike the early A modification, the JAS39D takes advantage of its system upgrades and offers an expanded selection of advanced weapons, chiefly among them the Rb99 (AIM-120) ARH missile. While this enables the JAS39D to strike aerial opponents from a long distance, ground targets will also have a hard time evading the Gripen’s precision strikes thanks to a greatly expanded selection of guided missiles and bombs of various calibers. In short, the JAS39D retains its versatility thanks to its multirole design while only sacrificing a small reduction to its range due to the twin seater cockpit reducing the onboard fuel tank size. The JAS39C’s 27 mm autocannon was also sacrificed to house the second pilot seat.

The JAS39D will soon be making its way to War Thunder as part of the Ninth Wave major update. Pilots will be able to obtain the new Swedish top dog either through squadron activity or by purchasing it with Golden Eagles. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned to the news for the latest information regarding the upcoming update!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

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