Saab has displayed a full-scale mock-up of a stealthy, supersonic uncrewed combat aircraft that could enter Swedish service in the 2030s, if the company secures a development contract. The aircraft, designated A3, represents the proposed production-oriented version of Saab’s Autonomous Collaborative Platform, or ACP, and is intended to show how a high-end drone could operate alongside crewed combat aircraft.

The mock-up was presented at Malmen Air Base during an event marking the Swedish Air Force’s 100th anniversary. Saab’s ACP program sits within Sweden’s broader KFS effort, short for Koncept för Framtida Stridsflygplan, or Concept for Future Combat Aircraft. The company previously used the terms Collaborative Combat Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial System for the initiative, The War Zone reported.

A3 has a tailless, blended wing-body configuration designed around low observability, internal fuel capacity and internal weapons storage. Its cropped wings, chisel-shaped diverterless supersonic inlets and pronounced forward chines give the aircraft an arrow-like planform. A serrated engine nozzle is visible at the rear of the mock-up. Saab’s concept retains similarities to a design the company released in 2024, although the newer version removes a prominent bulge above the engine nozzle.

The aircraft is positioned as a larger and more capable alternative to the lower-end Collaborative Combat Aircraft now being tested by the U.S. Air Force. Saab describes the ACP as a platform for missions in heavily defended airspace, including air-to-air combat, electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defenses and deep precision strike. Those capabilities remain part of the company’s proposed design rather than an operational fielding decision.

Saab is already developing two uncrewed demonstrators, A1 and A2, with funding from Sweden’s Ministry of Defense. The ministry directed the company to move from concept to first flight within 36 months, a schedule Saab’s advanced-programs chief Peter Nilsson characterized as challenging. A1 is expected to fly within 15 months of the briefing described by The War Zone.

A1 will use a General Electric Aerospace F414 turbofan, the same engine installed in Sweden’s Gripen E/F fighters. The engine produces about 22,000 pounds of thrust and is intended to give the demonstrator supersonic performance. Saab’s immediate objective for A1 is to demonstrate that it can build and fly a low-observable drone, rather than conduct weapons-release trials. The aircraft will have an internal weapons bay, but that bay will not be used for store-release testing.

A2 will also use the F414 and is expected to differ somewhat in appearance from A1. Its test program is planned to include weapons work, as well as trials of advanced materials, sensors and other technologies. Saab selected the F414 because it is available and familiar from the Gripen program. Commonality could also simplify maintenance at remote air bases if Sweden eventually buys a production ACP, an advantage linked to the Gripen’s operating concept.

Saab’s current contract covers development of A1 and A2 through 2030. No follow-on agreement currently exists to advance the design toward an A3 prototype, leaving the next phase dependent on a Swedish decision or another customer’s investment. Saab has indicated it could fund some early A3 work itself, but Nilsson said a customer would ultimately be needed to sustain the effort.

Under Saab’s proposed roadmap, Sweden could award a development contract around 2030, followed by an A3 first flight in the early 2030s and initial operational capability in the middle of that decade. The company has suggested that a Gripen E could serve as a tactical mission commander for one or more ACP aircraft, working with Sweden’s GlobalEye airborne early-warning and control aircraft. Saab also sees the ACP development as a possible technology base for a future crewed Gripen successor, which Sweden would need sometime after 2055, The War Zone reported.