On June 18, 2024, The Swedish Air Force retired its veteran Saab 105 jet trainer.
With this act, the Scandinavian country ended nearly six decades of continued service of this high-wing, twin-engine aircraft which fulfilled a variety of missions, mostly training, but also reconnaissance and ground attack. It was also the aircraft of choice of Team 60, the Swedish Air Force aerobatic team.
The Saab 105, which was called Skolflygplan 60 (or “Sk 60”) by the Swedish Air Force, first flew in 1963 and it entered service in 1967.
It was also exported to Austria, under the designation Saab 105Ö, with the last examples in the Austrian fleet withdrawn from service in 2020.
The retirement of the Saab 105 is aligned with changes in the way the Swedish Air Force trains its pilots. Rather than pursue advanced jet training at the force’s flight school in Linköping, future Swedish military pilots will undergo basic training in a new German-made Grob G120TP aircraft. They will then continue their formation with Italy’s Aeronatuica Militare at Decimomannu Air Base in Sardinia, Italy, and stateside with the United States Navy.
Interestingly, at the time of its development, Saab considered the launch of a civilian version for the executive aviation market. The Saab 105 could be fitted with up to four seats and some aircraft of this type fulfilled military liaison tasks carrying up to two passengers, in addition to the pilot and co-pilot.
Some Saab 105 airframes will be preserved in airworthy condition for heritage preservation purposes.