Sweden is one of those nations who have done their best to be self sufficient when it comes to their military. The equipment they use is either built under license or is designed and developed at home. This is as much to protect their neutrality as anything and Sweden has not been directly involved in war since 1814 and managed to keep its neutrality throughout two world wars.

In a similar fashion as Switzerland, Sweden has has specific requirements for its military aircraft. This includes short take off and landing, the ability to climb at a high rate and the ability to operate from public roads. Scattered all through Sweden are areas of extra wide and straight roads with other roads leading to hidden hardstands where aircraft can operate.

When a successor was required for the Saab 35 Draken, Saab came up with the canard delta design that became the Viggen. The large canards provide vortexes over the wing which help to increase lift and give it some of its outstanding rate of climb.

The aircraft was developed into several variants including fighter, ground attack, anti-shipping and reconnaissance. Two seat trainer versions were also developed that were devoid of radar. From the early 1970s until the mid 2000s, the Viggen was the main fighter of the Swedish Air Force, this role being taken over by the recent Gripen.

This is a rather interesting 'walk around' edition in that it is as much an 'in action' as one can provide for an aircraft that was never in combat and never exported. The book starts out with the development of the aircraft then has sections on the prototypes, the attack, fighter, recon, and trainer versions, before covering upgrades and finally retirement. Thanks to the rather large number of extant airframes, we are treated to a goodly number of photos of aircraft systems as well as various sections of the aircraft. We are also provided a lot of photos of these aircraft in service as well as the various special paint schemes it carried in the final years. This is additionally enhanced by several page width color profiles scattered throughout the book.

In all, it makes for an excellent reference for modelers as well as a very good read for the enthusiast. I very much enjoyed reading this one and can highly recommend it to you.

August 2013

My thanks to Squadron Products for the review copy. Get yours today at your favorite shop or on-line retailer.

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