Gripen campaign losses leave Saab questioning Swedish government support
Saab's Gripen E fighter jet has failed to gain an export order since 2014 (Photo: Saab)
Micael Johansson, CEO at Saab, has criticised the Swedish government for not doing more to help the manufacturer secure new Gripen E/F fighter jet export contracts.
After losing out primarily to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fifth-generation aircraft on multiple occasions since 2014 when Saab secured a Gripen contract with Brazil, Johansson said during a 26 August press briefing that he was ‘frustrated’ by a lack of orders.
‘The thing I can say is that this is not about the company or the system we develop and manufacture, but [if decisions had been made] on a completely level playing field in terms of not
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Defence Notes
-
“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
-
Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
-
Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
-
Thales: deployment speed to determine winners in ‘production versus production’ era
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
-
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.