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Sweden Eyes Canada as Hub to Double Gripen Fighter Jet Production for Ukraine
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Swedish defense giant Saab is exploring Canada as a potential location to establish an assembly site for its Gripen fighter jets. This strategic move is driven by the company’s need to rapidly accelerate production to meet soaring international demand, particularly from Ukraine.
According to City News on October 29, Saab’s CEO, Micael Johansson, recently stated in interviews with financial news outlets that Kyiv’s substantial interest in procuring over 100 Gripen fighter jets would effectively double the defense company’s current production requirements.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Canadian Aerospace Summit in Ottawa, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told that this interest constitutes “good news” and confirmed she had spoken with Johansson earlier that day.
“I’ve been actively working with Saab to see what can be done to do more partnerships with Canada, and it starts with the Global Eye [surveillance plane], but also we’re willing to see what we can do to help support Ukraine,” Joly stated.
Joly remarked that Canada is consistently open to increasing foreign direct investment. She emphasized that Canada and Sweden share identical views regarding Europe’s security and the situation in Ukraine, as well as the significance of their respective aerospace sectors. As such, she concluded that the partnership between the two nations is strong and has great potential for further development.
Simon Carroll, president of Saab Canada, affirmed the company's perspective in a media statement to The Canadian Press, saying the firm “views Canada and its formidable aerospace industry as an important market to support a significant increase in global demand,” according to City News. He added: “We’re continuing to grow and develop our relationships with Canadian companies to support our programs and products for Canada and for the export market.”
While the company declined to disclose specific partners or potential locations for the jet assembly, Carroll previously mentioned Saab intends to boost its export from Canada, expand its in-country operations, and increase the amount of assembly work performed on the Global Eye within Canada.
Earlier, Sweden formally agreed to provide Ukraine with 150 new Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets, marking a commitment for a major acquisition program estimated to be worth between $12 billion and $15 billion.
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