Saab 37 Viggen

Updated: October 2026 – A splotch-camouflaged delta jet touches down, and the moment the nose wheel meets the runway, a roar comes forward from the tail: the aircraft brakes with reversed thrust and comes to a stop after a surprisingly short distance. That is the Saab 37 Viggen, Sweden’s Cold War combat jet. With its delta wing, canards and thrust reverser it was ahead of its time – and it is a prime example of how a small, nonaligned country designed its own air defense. This page shows you how to recognize the Viggen, which versions there were, what technology is behind it and where you can still see it fly or in a museum today.

What is the Saab 37 Viggen?

The Viggen is a single-engine supersonic combat aircraft from the Swedish manufacturer Saab. In the 1970s it replaced the A 32 Lansen and, step by step, the Saab 35 Draken, and until the arrival of the JAS 39 Gripen it was the backbone of the Swedish Air Force.

Behind the design is a very Swedish idea: in wartime the air force was not supposed to sit on a few large airfields that an adversary could knock out in the first strike. Instead, the squadrons were dispersed across many small bases, improvised runways and prepared road sections. The concept was initially called Bas 60, later Bas 90. For the jet that meant: short takeoffs and landings, simple maintenance by conscripts and robust technology.

The prototype made its first flight on February 8, 1967, with Saab chief pilot Erik Dahlström at the controls. In 1971 the Air Force took over the first production aircraft of the AJ 37 attack version. By 1990 a total of 329 Viggens had been built, flying with nine wings (Swedish: flottiljer).

The technology: canards, thrust reverser and an airliner engine

Delta with canards

The Viggen was the first combat aircraft with a canard layout built in larger series. Ahead of the large delta wing sits a second, smaller pair of wings. Unlike on modern canard jets, these foreplanes are not fully movable but fixed and carry their own flaps. Their job: provide extra lift at low speed and stabilize the airflow over the main wing. That let the Viggen make a steep, slow approach without losing control.

The name fits. It alludes to the “åskvigg,” a lightning term from Swedish folklore around the thunder god Thor. At the same time “vigg” is the tufted duck – and canard, as is well known, is French for duck.

Thrust reverser on a combat jet

The second short-landing tool sits at the tail. The Viggen has a thrust reverser that the pilot can preselect on approach. When the nose gear compresses after touchdown, deflector flaps swing into the exhaust jet and direct it forward. A supersonic combat jet with an afterburner and a thrust reverser was a genuine exception at the time. With both aids together, the Viggen managed with runways of around 500 meters.

An airliner engine with afterburner

For power Saab chose not a pure military engine but the Pratt & Whitney JT8D – exactly the engine that also powered the Boeing 737-200. Volvo Flygmotor built it under license, strengthened it heavily and added an afterburner. The result was the RM8: in the attack version it delivered about 116 kN with afterburner, in the more powerful RM8B fighter version about 125 kN. That let the Viggen reach a good Mach 2 at high altitude.

Digital pioneering work

Less visible but just as remarkable: the Viggen flew with a digital central computer (CK 37) that took over navigation tasks for which other jets needed a second crew member in the cockpit. That kept the Viggen a single-seater. The late fighter version also got data links between aircraft – advanced for the 1980s.

The versions at a glance

Swedish military aircraft carry role abbreviations before the type number: J for Jakt (fighter), A for Attack (ground attack), S for Spaning (reconnaissance), Sk for Skol (training). That lets you place the Viggen versions on museum signs right away.

Version	Role	Typical feature
AJ 37	Ground attack and anti-ship	First production version from 1971, splinter camouflage
Sk 37	Two-seat trainer	Second cockpit behind the first, its own canopy
SF 37	Photo reconnaissance	Camera windows in the modified nose
SH 37	Maritime reconnaissance	Radar for monitoring the Baltic Sea
JA 37	Fighter	More powerful RM8B engine, built-in cannon, later partly gray
AJS / AJSF / AJSH 37	Multirole conversions of the 1990s	Upgraded AJ, SF and SH with new electronics
Sk 37E	Electronic warfare	Converted two-seaters, last active Viggens until 2007

The switch to the S versions had a concrete reason: the Gripen was on its way, and the Air Force wanted to practice beforehand having one aircraft take on several roles. The converted Viggens could therefore attack, perform reconnaissance or engage air targets, depending on equipment.

How to recognize the Viggen

The Viggen is one of those jets you will hardly confuse after one conscious look. Three features are enough.

Then there is the paint: most Viggens wore the Swedish four-color splinter camouflage of sharply delineated, angular color fields. This camouflage is a gift for photographers because even in museum photos it immediately says “Sweden.”

Viggen, Draken, Gripen or Eurofighter?

In museums especially, Swedish jets often stand side by side, and at airshows delta-canard types meet. The finder helps you narrow it down.

You will find more on the differences on the pages for the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale. The guide Identifying fighter jets in Europe offers a compact overview of current types.

Operational history: standing guard over the Baltic

The Viggen never flew in a war, but it had a demanding daily routine during the Cold War. Sweden lay between the blocs, and reconnaissance aircraft from East and West regularly cruised over the Baltic Sea. The JA 37 fighter version stood on alert, while the SF 37 and SH 37 reconnaissance aircraft watched shipping and military movements.

One episode made it into aviation folklore: Viggen pilots repeatedly managed to lock their radar onto Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft as they flew along the Swedish border. According to common accounts, this is regarded as one of the very few known cases in which a fighter got a firing solution on the Blackbird at all.

In export the Viggen was unlucky. Saab offered it to Norway, India and Australia, among others, and sent a variant into the US competition for a new lightweight fighter, which the F-16 ultimately won. The India deal failed because the US did not approve the export of the engine with its US technology. So all 329 aircraft stayed in Sweden.

From the end of the 1990s the Gripen took over. On November 25, 2005, the front-line units said farewell with a final flight of two aircraft from Wing F 21. The very last flights were made on June 26, 2007, by two Sk 37Es of the test center.

The airworthy Viggens of the Historic Flight

You owe the fact that you can still experience the Viggen in flight today to the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight (SwAFHF). The association has worked since 1998, is housed with Wing F 7 at Såtenäs and operates a whole collection of historic military aircraft with civil Swedish registrations – including the Draken, Lansen, Tunnan and Hunter.

Two Viggens are part of it:

Registration	Version	Ex-military number	Civil-registered and flown	Paint scheme
SE-DXN	AJS 37 (originally built as an AJ 37)	37098	March 27, 2012	unpainted, without wing number and Air Force national markings
SE-DXO	Sk 37 (last listed as an Sk 37E, two-seater)	37809	May 15, 2018	Four-color splinter camouflage

The SE-DXN is the flagship: without a camouflage coat it looks completely different in the sun from the camouflaged museum pieces. The SE-DXO, by contrast, shows the classic picture with splinter camouflage and a second cockpit.

Appearances happen mainly at airshows in Sweden, occasionally at big airshows abroad too. There is no fixed calendar: whether a Viggen comes depends on technology, budget and invitations. So check the organizers’ programs and the Historic Flight’s channels at short notice. You will find an overview of worthwhile events in the post Airshows in Europe for plane spotters.

Where to see the Viggen in a museum

Much more often than in the air, you meet the Viggen in exhibitions. A few addresses that are easy to reach on spotter tours:

Museum	Country	What to expect
Flygvapenmuseum Linköping	Sweden	Viggen in the line-up of Swedish military jets
Aviodrome Lelystad	Netherlands	According to reference works an AJSH 37 (maritime reconnaissance)
Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow	Poland	According to reference works an AJSF 37 (photo reconnaissance)
Museo del Aire Madrid	Spain	According to reference works an AJS 37 – a rare sight in southern Europe
Flugausstellung Hermeskeil	Germany	According to reference works an AJSF 37
Letecké muzeum Kbely	Czech Republic	According to reference works an AJSF 37
Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace	France	According to reference works an Sk 37E

If you want to see the whole Swedish line in one day, go to Linköping. At the Flygvapenmuseum at Malmen airfield you can see Draken, Viggen and Gripen in a single visit. In Krakow the spot at the former Rakowice airfield is worth a look, and in Lelystad a visit to the Aviodrome.

Photo tips: Viggens in museums and at airshows

Tips for dynamics and exposure at displays are in the guide Photographing airshows. How to classify old types reliably is explained in Recognizing vintage aircraft in the sky, and how rare your sighting really is is shown in the post Spotting rare aircraft.

Ruling out common mix-ups

Conclusion

The Saab 37 Viggen is a piece of Swedish engineering history that you can still experience today. Delta with canards, thrust reverser and a beefed-up airliner engine made it a jet for short runways and roads. You will find it in museums across Europe, and with a bit of luck the Historic Flight will show you just how loud and short a Viggen landing really is.