Saab announced on 7 November 2026 that it has flight-tested artificial intelligence agents on the Gripen E multi-role fighter jet. The company said the software autonomously controlled the aircraft during simulated beyond-visual-range combat scenarios against targets tracked entirely by radar.
Development, training and flight trials took place inside Saab's advanced programmes business unit, which has tested the systems on the Gripen E for around two years. Saab stated that the systems are ready for operational use in fighter jets or autonomous uncrewed aircraft, with deployment in the Swedish Air Force expected within months to several years.
The agents train in simulated environments at Saab's AI pilot academy. The company scales this training using computing infrastructure from the Swedish national initiative Sferical AI, which operates a supercomputer equipped with 1,152 Nvidia graphics processing units capable of running one billion one-hour flight simulations in a single hour.
Saab credited the Gripen E architecture, which separates flight controls from mission software, for allowing direct software trials on an operational fighter without dedicated experimental aircraft. The company said future air combat will rely on networked crewed and uncrewed systems working in coordination.
Also reported by Overt Defense
