The Saab 35 Draken was designed to intercept high-flying nuclear bombers at supersonic speed, distinguished by its distinctive double-delta wing. It entered service in December 1959 and went on to replace the J 29 Tunnan, J 32 Lansen and J 34 Hunter in Swedish service. This later J 35F variant added an infrared sensor to help guide its IR-homing missiles.
This example, individual number 35496, was delivered to F13 Bråvalla Wing in 1967, transferring to F1 Västmanland Wing within months, then later to F10 Skåne Wing (1973), F7 Skaraborg Wing (1975) and finally F16 Uppland Wing. Ownership passed from the Swedish Armed Forces to Flygvapenmuseum in autumn 2017, and the aircraft was moved to F15 Flygmuseum in Söderhamn in autumn 2018, where it's now displayed outdoors — fittingly, since this variant of the Draken had been earmarked for wartime basing at Söderhamn.
I photographed this aircraft myself in 2017 at Västerås Flygmuseum, shortly before it made the move to Söderhamn — a couple of those photos are included in the gallery alongside the current ones.
