The Saab
35 Draken is
a Swedish fighter aircraft developed and
manufactured by Saab between 1955 and 1974.
It was the first fully supersonic
aircraft to be deployed in Western Europe.
The Draken was
developed during the 1940s and 1950s to
replace Sweden's first generation of
jet-powered fighter aircraft, the Saab J 29
Tunnan and, later, the fighter variant (J
32B) of the Saab 32 Lansen. It featured an
innovative double delta wing; in order to
test this previously-unexplored aerodynamic
feature, a sub-scale test aircraft, the Saab
210, was produced and flown. Developed in
Sweden, the Draken was introduced into
service with the Swedish Air Force (SAF) on
8 March 1960. Early models were intended
purely to perform air defence missions, the
type being considered to be a
capable dogfighter for the era.
The Draken
functioned as an
effective supersonic fighter aircraft of
the Cold War period. In Swedish service, it
underwent several upgrades, the ultimate of
these being the J 35J model. By the 1980s,
the SAF's Drakens had largely been replaced
by the more advanced Saab 37 Viggen fighter,
while the introduction of the more
capable Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter was
expected in service within a decade,
although delayed. As a consequence of
cutbacks and high maintenance costs, the SAF
opted to retire the Draken during December
1999. The type was also exported
to Austria, Denmark, Finland, and the United
States; the last operated the type as a
training aircraft for test pilots.
SOURCE:
Wikipedia
|