Amazing Flygvapnet Sweden AF.
The Swedish Air Force (Swedish: Svenska flygvapnet or just Flygvapnet) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
DH.98 Mosquito NF.19 night fighter of the Swedish Air Force in 1949
The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalating international tension during the 1930s the Air Force was reorganized and expanded from four to seven squadrons.
The Swedish Air Force underwent a rapid modernization from 1945. It was no longer politically acceptable to equip it with second-rate aircraft types. Instead, the Air Staff purchased the best it could find from abroad, e.g. P-51D Mustangs, De Havilland Mosquito NF.19 night fighters and de Havilland Vampires, and supported the development of top performance domestic models. The Saab 29 Tunnan jet fighter was introduced around 1950.
In the late 1950s the Swedish Air Force introduced the Bas 60 air base system, which revolved around force dispersal of air squadrons across many wartime air bases in case of war in order to make it complicated for an opponent to destroy the air force on the ground. Road runways were also introduced as backup runways. Bas 60 was developed further into Bas 90 during the 1970s and 1980s.
During the Cold War large amounts of money (including funds intended for the Swedish nuclear weapons programme) were spent on the Swedish Air Force and domestic aircraft production. In 1957 Sweden had the world's fourth most powerful air force, with about 1,000 modern planes in front-line service. During the 1950s, it introduced fighters such as the Saab J 29 Tunnan, Saab A 32 Lansen and Saab J 35 Draken
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Founded | 1 July 1926; 97 years ago |
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Country |
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Type | Air force |
Role | Aerial warfare |
Size | 2,700 |
Part of | Swedish Armed Forces |
March |
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Equipment | 207 aircraft |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Chief of Air Force | MajGen Jonas Wikman |
Deputy Chief of Air Force | BGen Tommy Petersson [sv] |
Chief of the Air Staff | Col Dennis Hedström |
Notablecommanders | Bengt Nordenskiöld |
Insignia | |
Roundel | ![]() ![]() |
Aircraft flown | |
Electronicwarfare | Saab 340 AEW&C, Gulfstream IV-SP |
Fighter | JAS 39 Gripen |
Helicopter | A109LUH, NH90, UH-60M |
Trainer | Saab 105, Grob G 120TP |
Transport | C-130H Hercules, Saab 340B, Gulfstream IV-SP, Gulfstream G550 |
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As Of November 2022, The Martinair Fleet Consists Of The Following Aircraft:
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In the Cold War era, more than 600 Swedish fighter pilots were killed in crashes during peacetime exercises and training in the 1945–1991 period.In the 1950s–60s era the flight training curriculum was deficient and the training regimes were too risky and some aircraft types had design flaws. In the 1950s, about 21 pilots were killed annually.
In the 1960s the average number of killed were 13 per year, which meant Sweden had sixfold mortality rate per 100,000 flight hours compared to the United States. In the 1960s flight safety started to become a consideration, not due to the death toll but because the aircraft were getting increasingly expensive. In October 1960, a Lansen fighter crashed into a farmhouse and killed 7 people.In the 1970s the death toll was reduced to 6–7 per year. In subsequent years, it continued to fall and from 1996 onwards, no fatal accident has been recorded
These Swedish units also operated the RB-68 missile system (1 squadron each):
The Belgian Air Component Is The Air Arm Of The Belgian Armed Forces.
The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner.
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A Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen at Kaivopuisto Air Show | |
Role | Multirole fighter |
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National origin | Sweden |
Manufacturer | Saab AB |
Design group | Industrigruppen JAS, FMV |
First flight | 9 December 1988 |
Introduction | 9 June 1996 |
Status | In service |
Primary users | Swedish Air Force Brazilian Air Force South African Air Force Hungarian Air Force |
Produced | 1987–present |
Number built | ~300 (2023) |