Unique to Sweden, one requirement for the new aircraft was that it should be capable of operating from public roads as wartime airbases. Another was that refueling and rearming be feasibly carried out under ten minutes by conscripts with little training.
The Draken was designed with a double-delta configuration: its wings were in an 80° sweep at the root with winglets jutting at 60° at the tip. This allowed good high-speed performance combined with much a better slow-speed performance. Because such a configuration was new at the time, it warranted the creation of the only sub-scale test aircraft built by Sweden: the Saab 210 Lilldraken. The concept was successful, as the Draken, although not conceived for dogfights, was yet a capable fighter by its quick turn speed.
The first Draken prototype flew in October 1955. Since then, it would be built to 651 units, replacing the earlier Saab J-29 Tunnan and Saab 32 Lansen. It served not only in the Swedish Air Force, but also in the Austrian Air Force, the Finnish Air Force, and in the Royal Danish Air Force. Austria was the last to retire the aircraft in 2005. The United States also owns six Drakens formerly operated by Denmark through the National Test Pilot School, and several still fly in civilian service.
The Draken was the first fully supersonic aircraft to be deployed in Western Europe. The second prototype, equipped with an afterburner, unintentionally broke the sound barrier on its first flight while climbing.
25 Drakens were rebuilt into a twin-seated trainer version which was unarmed. Because the modification was minor, it could easily be converted back to a J 35A standard if necessary.
Drakens are interceptors with limited air-to-ground capability. They carried up to 4 drop tanks, 2 internal cannons, 4 - 6 Sidewinder missiles, and 75mm air-to-air rockets.
Danish Drakens are strike aircraft capable of carrying AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, electronic countermeasures, and increased internal and external fuel storage. The Danish Drakens are the heaviest to have flown.
Between 1987 and 1991, the aircraft received a longer lifespan, modern electronics and cannon, additional two Sidewinder (AIM-9P) pylons under the air intakes, and increased fuel capacity. The final operational J 35J flew for the last time in 1999.
Austria was the last country to keep the Draken in military service. This was the last Austrian Air Force fighter plane with internal cannons for its lone air-to-air armament because of the restriction in the Austrian State Treaty of 1955.
The Draken was not retired until 2005 by Austria. Due to cutbacks and high maintenance costs, the Draken was phased out of Swedish service in December 1998, replaced by the Saab 37 Viggen.
Unless otherwise mentioned, this webpage and its content is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International license. You may quote and copy this material if you give correct credit to the author and do not distort or otherwise change the original meaning of his words. Copying any material on this website without giving correct credit to the author is both plagiarism and copyright infringment, and will be treated as such. Denis G. Labrecque published this document on June 24, 2016. Proudly hosted on GitHub using Jekyll markdown.