Alerts Sign-up
Sweden has a long history of producing notable fighter jets, with the Saab 35 Draken being one of its most successful. The aircraft was the first to perform the kort parad maneuver, later known as the Cobra Maneuver. Built by Saab between 1955 and 1974, the Draken was developed to replace Sweden's Saab 29 Tunnan and Saab 32B Lasen fighters. It was among the first to successfully use a double delta-wing design.
The Draken entered service with the Swedish Air Force in 1960 and became Western Europe's first supersonic fighter built domestically. Despite its capabilities, including performing dogfights, it never saw combat.
Approximately 650 units were produced, serving countries like Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Austria. "J 35J Draken’s served until retired in December 1998," stated The Aviationist. Austria continued using them until 2005 before switching to Typhoon Eurofighters.
