Saab floats Gripen production hub in Canada, if Ottawa were willing

SINGAPORE — Swedish aerospace manufacturer Saab has proposed that a hypothetical Gripen production line in Canada would be large enough to also serve export customers besides making planes for the Canadian Air Force.

The statement is the latest effort by Saab in sweetening the pot for Canada to give the Swedish company a slice of its fighter jet business.

“We need to ramp up our [fighter jet] production capabilities, to a level where it’s not only for Canada – we do see that [the potential line] will produce for export as well,” Mikael Franzén, chief marketing officer for the Gripen at Saab, told reporters at the Singapore Airshow here.

During a press briefing overviewing ongoing and future fighter programs, executives showed a map of current and possible Gripen E customers, which included Canada and Ukraine, among others.

Since last March, Ottawa has been undergoing a strategic review of its fighter capabilities and is exploring the potential of a mixed fleet that could combine F-35 and Gripen aircraft. The government announced in 2023 that it was spending $19 billion to acquire 88 jets from Lockheed Martin, but it has only committed to buying 16 for the time being.

In a recent interview with the aviation magazine Skies, Canadian Chief of Air and Space Force Development Maj. Gen. Jeff Smyth did not rule out that the final purchase might include a higher number to replace aging CF-18 Hornet fighters.

“Eighty-eight jets are not a lot for a country the size of Canada – if the government decides to buy more in the future, that would be welcome for us and our allies,” he told the publication.

Saab has been marketing the Gripen across the North American country for some time, calling it “The Made-in-Canada Fighter.”

Late last year, company officials claimed they could generate approximately 10,000 Canadian jobs if the country opted for the Swedish option, and pledged to build, maintain, and upgrade the aircraft with several Canadian industry partners.

Franzén told Defense News the plan entails that the first aircraft could be produced in Sweden to get started quicker, but that the rest would be made in Canada, “as the country has highly competent industries for software, hardware and airframe.”

He explained that the company is ramping up to achieve a production rate of 36 aircraft per year, but this estimate includes both existing and future lines.

“Many are speculating, will they replace the F-35 with the Gripen? I don’t think that is what they’re looking for. I think they’re looking for how their air force could be stronger in having a mixed fleet, and could it be that you have a certain number of F-35s and you add on Gripens on top of that,” Franzén said.

Company boss Micael Johansson has floated the possibility previously that, if established, a production facility could also support potential orders from Ukraine for over 100 Gripen.