Eurofighter Typhoon vs Saab Gripen: Twin-Engine Power or Single-Engine Value?

Which Is Better: the Eurofighter Typhoon or the Saab Gripen?

On raw performance the Eurofighter Typhoon is the better fighter. It is faster, flies higher, goes farther and carries more than the Saab Gripen.

The Gripen is the cheaper and simpler one. Sweden designed it to be flown from short roads and turned around quickly by small crews, and a 2012 Jane’s study found it had the lowest cost per flight hour of the modern fighters it compared.

Where the Eurofighter Typhoon Wins

The Typhoon’s clearest advantage is speed. The AeroCorner database lists its maximum speed at 1,550 mph (2,495 km/h), against 1,320 mph (2,124 km/h) for the Gripen.

Two Eurojet EJ200 engines each give up to 60 kN (13,500 lbf) of dry thrust and more than 90 kN with afterburners, according to Wikipedia. Eurofighter says the jet can supercruise at Mach 1.5, though Air Forces Monthly gives Mach 1.1 for the RAF’s multirole version, so treat the higher claim with care.

Size also brings payload and reach. The database lists a maximum payload of 19,800 lb (9,000 kg) and a range of 2,360 mi (3,790 km), against 11,700 lb (5,300 kg) and 1,990 mi (3,200 km) for the Gripen.

The Typhoon’s service ceiling is 65,000 ft (19,800 m), 15,000 ft above the Gripen’s 50,000 ft (15,200 m).

It also carries more sensors. The PIRATE infrared search and track system can follow up to 200 targets at once, according to Wikipedia, and upgraded jets move to the Captor-E AESA radar.

Where the Saab Gripen Wins

The Gripen’s biggest edge is cost. A 2012 Jane’s Aerospace and Defense Consulting study put its cost per flight hour at about $4,700, while the next lowest, the F-16 Block 40/50, came in 49 percent higher at $7,000.

That figure is for earlier Gripens. The larger Gripen E reportedly costs more to fly, with one estimate near $27,000 per hour in Swiss figures, so the low-cost story is strongest for the C and D models.

The second edge is basing. Sweden wanted a jet that could operate from snow-covered strips of only 500 meters (1,600 ft) and be rearmed and refueled in about ten minutes by a technician and five conscripts, according to Wikipedia.

The database backs this up with a takeoff distance of 1,310 ft (400 m) and a landing distance of 1,640 ft (500 m) for the JAS 39B.

The Gripen is also much lighter. Its empty weight is 14,992 lb (6,800 kg) against 24,251 lb (11,000 kg) for the Typhoon, and one engine means one engine to buy, fuel and maintain.

Design Philosophy: Two Ways to Build a Delta-Canard Fighter

The two jets look alike at a glance. Both use a delta wing with canard foreplanes, both are aerodynamically unstable by design and both rely on fly-by-wire controls to stay flyable.

The difference is how big a bet each one makes. The Typhoon is a twin-engine air superiority fighter that grew into a multirole jet, built by a four-nation consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

The Gripen began as a Swedish requirement for an affordable Mach 2 aircraft with good short-field performance, and a single engine kept it small. Its RM12 is a licence-built derivative of the General Electric F404.

Radar and Sensors

The Typhoon launched with the mechanically scanned Captor radar. The Captor-E AESA version was launched with Kuwait in April 2016, and Wikipedia lists ECRS Mk0, Mk1 and Mk2 variants for different customers.

The Gripen entered service with the PS-05/A pulse-Doppler radar, which Wikipedia says can find targets 74 miles (120 km) away. The Gripen E adds the Raven ES-05 AESA radar and an infrared search and track system, and the Typhoon’s newer radar work draws partly on the ES-05.

Weapons

Both jets carry the MBDA Meteor long-range air-to-air missile, along with the IRIS-T short-range missile. The Gripen also carries a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon, which is left off the two-seat versions.

The Typhoon adds heavier strike options such as Storm Shadow, Brimstone and Marte ER missiles on later aircraft.

Cost: Typhoon vs Gripen

The Gripen is the cheaper jet, but the published figures are not like-for-like. The database lists a 2018 price of $90 million for the Typhoon, and a 2007 German estimate put its unit cost at €57 million.

A 2009 German order for 31 Tranche 3A aircraft worked out at €90 million per aircraft including system costs. Wikipedia prices the Gripen E at $85 million per unit, though a Swiss estimate put its flyaway cost near $113 million.

Because those numbers come from different years and scopes, they show direction rather than an exact gap.

Who Flies Them

The Typhoon flies with nine nations: Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Turkey has ordered it, bringing procurement to 769 aircraft as of 30 June 2026.

The Gripen has had more than 280 aircraft delivered as of 2025. Sweden, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa and Thailand fly it, and Colombia signed for 17 Gripen E and F jets in November 2025.

Ukraine signed a deal on 30 June 2026 for 16 Gripen E jets, and Sweden is donating 16 Gripen C and D aircraft from its own fleet.

Head-to-Head Results

In 2002 Austria picked the Typhoon over both the F-16 and the Gripen. That is a buyer’s choice, not a fight.

In the 2006 Red Flag exercise in Alaska, Swedish Gripens flew simulated sorties against F-16 Block 50s, Eurofighter Typhoons and F-15Cs and scored ten kills, including a Typhoon on the first day, according to Wikipedia. It was a scripted exercise, so it says little about a real war.

Which Should You Choose?

An air force that wants maximum speed, range and weapons growth, and can pay for a twin-engine fleet, leans toward the Typhoon. An air force with a smaller budget, short runways or a need for quick turnarounds leans toward the Gripen.

Neither choice is wrong, because the two jets were built for different priorities.

Related Comparisons

Looking at other Typhoon matchups? See our Eurofighter Typhoon vs F-16 Fighting Falcon comparison, or the wider best fighter jets in the world ranking.