Saab aims to produce 36 Gripen E/F fighters annually as Brazilian assembly line nears first delivery

Swedish airframer Saab is aiming to significantly expand its production capacity for the latest E/F variant of its Gripen fighter.

Speaking at the Singapore air show on 4 February, the company’s head of marketing for the Gripen programme said Saab is now targeting an assembly rate of 36 new-build fighters annually.

“We have already started investing big time into increasing the capability,” says Mikael Franzen.

But to meet the demands of its growing orderbook and existing tender opportunities, Franzen says Gripen production could expand beyond the 36-unit figure, although he declines to name a specific number.

Notably, a significant portion of that capacity will come from outside the company’s flagship assembly site in Linkoping, Sweden.

A Brazilian assembly plant, operated by Embraer in partnership with Saab, is set to deliver its initial Gripen in the first quarter of this year – the first supersonic fighter produced in Latin America.

That aircraft will go to the Brazilian air force – the launch customer for Gripen E/F, which is already flying jets built in Sweden.

Additional firm orders from Thailand, Colombia and the Swedish air force give Saab a comfortable runway to pursue other promising opportunities in Portugal, the Philippines, Peru and Ukraine.

But without a doubt the most-watched opportunity for the Gripen is in Canada, where the government is reconsidering its plans to field 88 American-made Lockheed Martin F-35As – driven by expansionist rhetoric and trade sanctions coming from Washington, DC.

While Ottawa has committed to fielding at least 16 F-35As, the remainder of the Canadian requirement is in limbo.

Saab has stepped in to offer domestic production of the Gripen in Canada, which it would develop alongside a local partner as it did in Brazil.

Both the Embraer plant in Brazil and a still-hypothetical Canadian line would serve export customers, Franzen notes, not just to fulfill their respective domestic orders.

Saab insists that it is only providing Ottawa with information on options for a Gripen procurement, not actively lobbying for such a deal.

However, Franzen argues that a mixed fleet of F-35s and Gripens could provide the Royal Canadian Air Force with advantages over a single-type fleet – traditionally viewed as more sensible approach for a force of that size.

“Gripen has strengths that the F-35 doesn’t have and F-35 that the Gripen doesn’t have,” he notes.

While the American jet offers the enhanced survivability of a stealth platform, Franzen says the Gripen offers lower operating costs, high availability rates and an airframe specifically designed for the harsh cold weather environment that defines much of Canada’s operating environment.

“Gripen would give combat mass to Canada,” Franzen says. “Canada is an Arctic environment like Sweden, so we know the Grippen would fit really, really well in Canada.”

Saab says it has already begun the process of expanding Gripen production, regardless of what decision is made in Ottawa.

“It’s not like we will start if Canada selects Gripen,” Franzen says.