Sweden’s Saab May Establish Gripen Jet Facility in Ukraine

Swedish defense manufacturer Saab is weighing plans to open a final assembly and testing facility for its Gripen fighter jets in Ukraine.

The Gaze reports this, referring to The Financial Times.

The company’s CEO, Micael Johansson, told the Financial Times that although establishing production during wartime poses major challenges, Saab sees long-term potential in deepening defense cooperation with Kyiv.

“It’s not easy in wartime, but it would be great to set up at least final assembly and testing of aircraft in Ukraine, and later, perhaps, partial production,” Johansson said.

He noted that a future deal with Ukraine could double Saab’s manufacturing capacity, as demand for Gripen jets grows among European and NATO partners. 

The company is already investing in expanding its Brazilian plant to boost annual output to 20–30 aircraft, and it is exploring similar opportunities in Canada and other European states.

Johansson added that frozen Russian assets could become one of the potential funding sources for the Ukrainian project.

“There are ongoing political discussions about which part of the financing and risks will be taken by Sweden, which by other countries, and what could be covered using confiscated Russian assets. No final decision has been made yet,” he explained.

According to Sash Tusa, an aerospace and defense analyst at Agency Partners, Saab is better placed than many competitors to ramp up production. 

Historically, the company’s output peaked at around 18 Gripens per year, while current figures are roughly half that level. “The hardest part is exceeding the historical production peak,” Tusa observed.

As The Gaze previously reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Sweden had agreed to supply between 120 and 150 Saab JAS 39 Gripen E fighter jets under a long-term contract.