June 6 is Sweden’s National Day! We took a look at three of our favorite home-grown Swedish aircraft, and how you can track them on Flightradar24. 

Saab 340

The Saab 340 a twin-engine turboprop aircraft that was first introduced in 1984. Originally a joint project between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft, it accommodates up to 36 passengers and is typically used on short sector regional and commuter flights. Whilst the 340 represented Saab’s first venture into major civilian aircraft production, its innovations in building military aircraft made their way into the design of the 340. The most notable of these was the use of diffusion bonding to attach sections of the aluminium airframe – a process developed for the Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet. This replaced the traditional method of using rivets and saved weight, improving the economic performance of the aircraft.

Saab JAS 39 Gripen

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a single-engine, fourth-generation multirole fighter jet developed by Saab. It first entered service in 1996 and is currently operated by the air forces of seven countries across the world, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and South Africa… and Sweden! The Swedish Air Force considered some big name jets during procurement for their fourth generation fighter, including the F16, F18 and Mirage 2000, but the innovation behind the home-grown Gripen proved its ticket to success.

Saab 2000

First flown in March 1992, the Saab 2000 is a high-speed turboprop airliners. Development began in 1988 with an initiative to create a stretched version of the successful Saab 340, optimised to fly short sectors from performance restricted airports at near-jet speeds. The aircraft delivered on its promises, but was hampered by poor sales in a market that did not live up to expectations. Despite this, Saab 2000 aircraft remain in military and civilian use around the world to this day.

How to track these aircraft on Flightradar24

You can easily track all three of these aircraft using filters in Flightradar24. Simply open Filters, create a new filter, select ‘Aircraft’, and enter the following codes…

SF34,SB39,SB20

Cover image: Jeremy Denton, JetPhotos