The Draken: One of Sweden's finest fighters

Introduction:

When it was conceived in the early 1950s, Saab’s Draken was a very radical and unusual machine. Its unorthodox design allowed it to easily surpass the speed of sound, making it Sweden’s first supersonic fighter aircraft and one of Europe’s best performing fighters. The Draken had a successful career with a number of airforces and remained in service 50 years after its maiden flight – quite an achievement, especially considering that two successors have been built!

Contents of the article:

• The events that led up to the Draken being ordered and produced
• The Saab 210 proof-of-concept demonstrator
• A brief history of the Draken development program
• A technical description of the Draken, covering flying controls, avionics, weaponry, power plant and landing gear
• A thorough description of each Draken variant produced, detailing the J35A, J35B, Sk35C two-seat trainer, J35E reconnaissance aircraft, J35F and upgraded J35J
• Proposed Draken variants
• Drakens exported to Denmark
• Drakens in service with Finland
• Austrian Drakens

For more information on the Draken check out these titles: