A Czech Air Force JAS 39 Gripen takes off from a runway in Ostrava, Czechia, in September 2025. The Gripen recently successfully tested NATO’s TAURUS KEPD 350 cruise missile. (Shutterstock/Soos Jozsef)
Sweden’s ‘Gripen’ Fighter Jet Is Getting New Talons
Sweden has integrated the TAURUS KEPD 350 cruise missile onto its Gripen fighter jets—combining arguably NATO’s best cruise missile with one of its greatest aerial threats.
A Swedish JAS 39C Gripen successfully fired a TAURUS KEPD 350 long-range cruise missile for the first time—an important step toward NATO’s goal of extending its air defense capabilities against Russian aggression.
One of NATO’s Best Cruise Missiles Is Now Gripen-Compatible
Last week, the Swedish Air Force released a video showing a JAS 39C Gripen deploying the advanced TAURUS KEPD 350 cruise missile.
The Swedish Air Force deployed the air-to-ground missile at the Vidsel Test Range in northeastern Sweden. The test range is one of the largest in Europe.
The integration of cruise missiles onto the Swedish aircraft is a milestone in NATO’s defense efforts. Although one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, more commonly known as kamikaze drones, are the hottest item of the modern battlefield, they lack the deep strike and destructive capabilities of a well-aimed air-launched cruise missile. With two-stage tandem warheads weighing over 1,000 pounds and designed for deep penetration missions against hardened targets, the TAURUS KEPD 350 can achieve destruction beyond the means of a single kamikaze drone or a flock of these unmanned aerial systems. And the ability to launch them from the air, in or around enemy territory, greatly enhances their range and flexibility.
The “C” version of the JAS 39 is the most populous in the Swedish Air Force, with over 70 aircraft. The addition of the TAURUS KEPD 350 to its already-impressive arsenal increases Stockholm’s and NATO’s deep strike capabilities.
About the TAURUS KEPD 350 Cruise Missile
The TAURUS KEPD 350 is an air-launched cruise mission that is designed to take out high-value stationary and semi-stationary targets. As part of its capabilities, the munition can even tackle hardened, deeply buried targets.
“TAURUS KEPD 350 combines outstanding penetration of hard and deeply buried targets, and blast and fragmentation of high-value point and area targets with exceptional bridge-and-runway-target kill capacity,” SAAB notes about the air-launched cruise missile.
- Year Introduced: 2006
- Number Built: Unknown
- Length: 16.4 feet (5 meters)
- Wingspan: 6.9 feet (~2 meters)
- Weight: ~3,085 lbs (1,400 kg)
- Engines: Williams P8300‐15 turbofan
- Top Speed: Mach 0.95 (~721 mph or 1,160 km/h)
- Range: Over 310 miles (500 km)
- Loadout: 1,600 lbs two-stage tandem warheads (481 kg)
The air-launched missile is a joint venture between SAAB and MBDA Deutschland, the German subsidiary of France-based multinational defense giant MBDA.
The addition of the TAURUS KEPD 350 to the JAS 39C bolsters NATO’s air defense capabilities in a key part of its eastern border and increases its overall deterrence.
About the JAS 39 Gripen Fighter Jet
- Year Introduced: 1996
- Number Built: ~300
- Length: 14.9 m (48 ft 11 in) JAS 39C/E / 15.6 m (51 ft) JAS 39D/F
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: ~8.4 m (27 ft 6 in)
- Weight (MTOW): 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)
- Engines: GE F414G in the E/F variants
- Top Speed: ~2,460 km/h (1,530 mph) / Mach 2
- Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
- Service Ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
- Loadout: 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon (omitted on two-seat variants), including air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder, air-to-ground missiles such as the AGM-65 Maverick, and anti-ship missiles such as the RBS-15
- Aircrew: 1–2, depending on variant
Manufactured by SAAB, the JAS 39 Gripen is a fourth-generation multi-role fighter jet. The aircraft is the result of Sweden’s long-standing neutrality during the 20th Century (and through the two World Wars) and the first two decades of the 21st century. In large part because of its neutral posture when it came to war and peace in Europe, Sweden developed a strong defense sector; with no other nation coming to its rescue, it needed to be able to defend itself, giving it a far stronger military budget than most other European nations covered under the US-led security umbrella.
Designed and developed during the Cold War, the JAS 39 Gripen was Stockholm’s response to the growing competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Gripen survived the undeclared conflict, and SAAB continues to produce more advanced versions of the multirole fighter jet.
Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 broke Sweden’s centuries-long neutrality. It is now a NATO member state, and the Gripen is on the front line of NATO’s defenses.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a JD from Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
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