Single-engine, low-wing aircraft built mainly in metal. Originally from the designer AJ Andersson's Bücker Bestmann, SK 25 which it also came to replace.

Used as a trainer in the Swedish Air Force for basic flight training. Quickly became very popular and considered easy to fly. The "Safir" became an almost legendary machine and is forever intimately associated with the flight school at F 5 Ljungbyhed. For many of the Air Force pilots, it is also the machine where many did their first flight.

Due to a lack of capacity at SAAB's workshops in Linköping (to produce priority J 29), many aircraft came to be license-produced by Fokker in the Netherlands.

The type was manufactured in several variants and with different engine options. The Safir also became an export success for Saab which sold it to many countries like Norway, Finland, Austria and Japan.