Saab management announced that it was considering opening a plant in Ukraine for the final assembly and testing of Gripen fighter jets. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing the company’s CEO Mikael Johansson.
The head of Saab noted that despite the difficult conditions of wartime, the company is seeking to establish cooperation that will allow for the partial localization of the production of modern combat aircraft in Ukraine.
Similar plans were considered by the Swedish company back in 2009. At that time, the Ukrainian government was already negotiating the establishment of a licensed assembly plant for Gripen aircraft in Ukraine. However, the rise to power of pro-Russian President Yanukovych and Russian aggression in 2014 put an end to these plans.
“It’s not easy during the war, but it would be great to establish at least final assembly and testing of aircraft in Ukraine, and later, perhaps, partial production,” Johansson emphasized.
As Johansson noted, signing an agreement with Ukraine could double Saab’s production capacity requirements. The company is currently investing heavily in expanding production in Brazil, where it plans to increase annual production of Gripen aircraft to 20–30 units.
In addition, Saab is considering options for opening new production lines in Canada and several European countries that are of strategic importance to the defense industry. Johansson mentioned using frozen Russian assets as one possible way to fund the Ukrainian project.
“Discussions are currently underway at the political level regarding how much of the financing and risks Sweden will assume, how much other countries will assume, and how much can be covered by confiscated Russian assets. No final decision has been made yet,” explained the head of Saab.
Currently, it is also known that production of this modern version of Gripen has only just begun, so deliveries are expected to be gradual over several years.
