FARNBOROUGH, U.K. - When the president of Brazil turned up to cheer on his side at this summer's World Cup, Saab was ready. A flight of South African Air Force Gripen jets buzzed the stadium, Saab officials said here July 21, showing off for the man who will ultimately decide whether the Swedish fighter jet gains a Latin American toehold.

Company officials hope their jet wins orders in Brazil and India on technical grounds - Gripen's highly integrated sensors and low operating cost - but they're leaving few potential selling points unmade.

Both Brazil and India operate aircraft carriers, and so Saab has looked into making a naval variant of the Gripen NG, the next-generation jet now under development, company officials said. They said an internal look at the concept concluded that it wouldn't take much to turn the jet into a carrier-ready aircraft, thanks to a sturdy airframe that is built to land on roads, not just runways.

"We are the road-landing experts of the world," said Eddy de la Motte, who is running Gripen's marketing campaign in India. Nordic concepts of operations call for the possibility of refueling aircraft on roads in remote parts of the country.

The Gripen C/D needs just 900 meters of 9-meter-wide asphalt to touch down and takeoff. Adding a tailhook and a bit of strengthening would complete most of the missing requirements for carrier landings, he said.

De la Motte said Saab has talked with the Brazilian government about a naval NG, but the concept is not tied to the Air Force procurement competition currently underway.

Other Gripen NG facts and figures trotted out for consideration by Saab officials included:

■ 10-minute combat turnaround time.

■ 1-hour engine replacement.

■ 2.5 tons more takeoff weight than the Gripen C/D. The NG's landing gear has been redesigned, allowing an extra metric ton of fuel to be loaded on the centerline, officials said.

■ Supercruise at 1.2 Mach, dash up to 1.6 Mach.