A Swedish company is ready to open a plant in Ukraine as part of a deal for 150 Gripen fighter jets.
JAS 39 Gripen Повітряних сил Швеції. Ілюстративне фото
Swedish defense company Saab has announced its readiness to open a final assembly plant in Ukraine as part of a potential agreement to purchase 150 Gripen fighter jets for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Saab CEO Mikael Jugansson announced this in a comment to the Financial Times .
According to him, the contract with Ukraine could double the company’s need for production capacity, and the establishment of a plant in Ukraine will be an important stage of cooperation.
“It’s not that easy during a war, but it would be great to create capacity in Ukraine, at least for final assembly and testing, and perhaps even for partial production,” Juhansson said.
He added that Saab plans to expand production in Brazil, Canada, and several European countries. The company already has facilities in Brazil, where it can produce approximately 20–30 Gripens annually.
Aerospace analyst Sash Tusa of Agency Partners noted that Saab is currently producing just over half of its historical peak—around 18 aircraft per year. However, he added, Saab “has a better chance of increasing production than most competitors.”
“The most difficult thing is to expand beyond the historical production point. But Gripen has a differentiated supply chain, which allows for production expansion,” the analyst emphasized.
As is known, on October 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed an agreement of intent to purchase between 100 and 150 new JAS 39 Gripen E fighter jets.
It was previously reported that Sweden declared its readiness to expand military aid to Ukraine and was considering the possibility of transferring Gripen combat aircraft.
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