SaaB J35 Draken in Foreign Service

Last revised April 1, 2002
Written by: Greg Goebel

While the Swedes, with a tradition of military neutrality, are not in general aggressive arms exporters, the Draken was purchased several European nations.

In 1960, the Swiss evaluated a "J35H" Draken, where "H" for "Helvetia", the old Latin name for Switzerland, as a replacement for their old de Havilland vampires in the interceptor role. The J35H was fitted with Ferranti "AI.23 Airpass" collision-course radar system, used in the English Electric Lightning. The evaluation of the F35H went well, but the Swiss opted for the French Mirage III instead.

In 1968 the Danish government selected a J35F derivative designated the "J35X", where "X" naturally stood for "export", for the Danish Air Force. The J35X was similar to the J35F, but had greater fuel capacity, structural reinforcement, a new outer wing, and a runway arresting hook. The J35X could carry a maximum external warload of 4,500 kilograms (10,000 pounds). It was fitted with twin Aden cannon.

The Danes ended up buying a total of 51 Drakens. Three different variants were obtained:

• 20 "A35XD" fighters were delivered in the 1970:1971 timeframe. The Danes giving them the designation "F35". The F35 was bought to replace North American F-100D Super Sabres in the ground attack role and lacked radar, though it could carry Sidewinder missiles for self-defense.

  They had the new stores pylon on the inner wing as fitted on the J35J, as well as a second stores pylon on the outer wing, giving a total of eight stores pylons. They could carry large 1,275 liter (336 US gallon) external tanks.

  Following some minor upgrades in the 1970s, adding items like chaff-flare dispensers, in the 1980s, the F35s were put through an upgrade program that involved the addition of a new nav-attack system, featuring a British Ferranti "laser rangefinder & marked target seeker (LRMTS)"; a head up display (HUD); a radar warning receiver (RWR); and other new avionics. The LRMTS was fitted in a modified nose.

• 20 "S35XD / RF35" reconnaissance fighters were delivered in 1971:1972 to replace Denmark's Republic RF-84F Thunderflashes. These reconnaissance Drakens featured a camera nose, a derivative of that fitted to the J35E, and were also provided with Vinten Red Baron infrared reconnaissance pods in the mid-1970s.

  The RF35s retained twin Aden cannon and had stores pylons, giving them a secondary attack capability, and were given some of the same modernizations provided to the F35s in the 1980s. Apparently the new nose fitted to the upgraded F35s to stored the Ferranti LRMTS was a modification of that fitted to the RF35, and after the upgrade it was very difficult to tell the two variants apart.

• Eleven "SK35XD / TF35" trainers were purchased in two batches. Six were delivered in 1971:1972 as part of the order for the F35s and RF35s, with an additional batch of five delivered in 1976:1977.

  These machines were similar to Swedish F35Cs, with a tandem canopy and a stereoscopic periscope for the back-seater, but were fitted with RM6C engines and Model 67 afterburners, and were combat-capable, retaining a single Aden cannon. They were also given some of the modernizations applied to the upgraded F35s, including the LRMTS in a modified nose.

The Danish Drakens were expected to serve well into the 1990s, but they were out of formal service by 1993, as the end of the Cold War had led to defense cutbacks.

In 1970, Finland decided to obtain the Draken, arranging to buy twelve "J35XS" interceptors in kit form for assembly by Valmet. These were similar to the J35F, but had twin Aden cannon; a revised avionics suite; and lacked the fire-control radar needed for the Hughes Falcon, relying instead on the Sidewinder. Initial flight was in 1974, with deliveries completed in 1975. The Finnish Drakens served in both the interceptor and fighter-bomber roles.

As an interim measure to provide training experience before the J35XS fighters were available, the Finns leased six J35Bs from Sweden, giving them the designation "J35BS". These aircraft were apparently stripped of most of their combat avionics. The first was delivered in 1972. One was grounded after being badly damaged in 1974, and the Finns leased another J35B to replace it.

In 1975, the Finns decided to buy these seven aircraft outright, as they had become enthusiastic about the type, and also bought six refurbished Swedish J35Fs with the designation of "J35FS". They bought a second batch of J35FS Drakens in 1984, again all refurbished Flygvapnet aircraft.

In addition to the refurbished fighters, in 1975 the Finns obtained three refurbished J35Cs with the designation of "J35CS", and purchased two more refurbished trainers in 1984, along with the second batch of J35FS Drakens. This somewhat complicated history gave a total Finnish Draken force of 48 aircraft

Finnish Drakens served into the 21st century, finally being withdrawn in favor of Finland's new F/A-18 Hornet fighters.

The final user of the Draken is Austria. After considering a number of options for a replacement for the country's Saab 29 Tunnans, which had gone out of service in 1972, the Austrians settled on used Flygvapnet J35Ds, buying 24 of them in 1985. The aircraft were refurbished and modernized to an extent, being fitted with bulged J35F-style canopies, an RWR, and chaff-flare dispensers, and delivered in the 1987:1989 timeframe.

The Austrian Drakens were given the designation of "J35O", where the "O" stood for "Oesterreich (Austria)". They did not buy any J35Cs, flight training being provided in Sweden as part of the sales package. Apparently a few J35Cs have been retained in operation in Sweden for this purpose.

The J35Os were used as primarily as interceptors, though the Austrians did obtain reconnaissance pods as well. Initially, the J35Os were solely armed with their twin Aden cannon, as Austria's neutrality agreements prevented the fighters from carrying Sidewinders or other AAMs. After the fall of the USSR, the Austrians acquired surplus Swedish Sidewinders to arm their J35Os.

The J35Os were supposed to be withdrawn from service in 1998, but finding a replacement has been time-consuming. The Drakens are expected to remain in operation until 2005.