Saab S37 Viggen Jet: How the Cold War Fighter Earned its “Thunderbolt” Stripes

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

Meet the Saab S37 Viggen: In the 1950s, the Cold War was in full swing. Although not a signatory of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the time, Sweden was beefing up its military to protect against the Soviet threat. 

On October 25th, 1955, the S35 Draken took to the skies.

By this time, however, the Swedish military was already planning its next generation of fighters; the results of this process would culminate in the S37 Viggen.

What goals did the Saab S37 Viggen fulfill?

As with most other aircraft developed by the Swedish military, the Viggen had a diverse array of requirements the designers were expected to satisfy.

Due to the overwhelming might of the Soviet military, Swedish planners adopted the Bas-60 system for its air force, planning to disperse the aircraft to multiple small bases to prevent the loss of the majority of them in a Soviet first strike.

In order to facilitate this requirement, the Viggen had to be short takeoff and landing (STOL) capable to deploy to small bases, bases with damaged runways, or even highways.