Carbon fibre composite on the Viggen aircraft

The Saab-Scania Aircraft Company has manufactured aircraft for the Swedish Air Force since 1940, starting with the B-18 Bomber. Other famous aircraft are the J29 ‘Flying Barrel’, the J35 ‘Draken’ (today in service in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and soon in Austria) and the ‘Viggen’ family. In the beginning of the 1990s the multi-role combat aircraft JAS39 ‘Griffon’ will be delivered to the Swedish Air Force. Saab-Scania also have a leading market position in the commuter airplane segment of 30–40 passengers, Saab 340.At a request of the Swedish Defence Material Administration, Saab-Scania 1975 started a programme introducing new materials for aircraft production. This resulted in redesigning of some metal parts by using carbon fibre composite.The programme gave a soft start in using the new material but has given a broad experience in both manufacturing and service areas. This experience is being used when developing new military and civil products.