Company Leads Swedish Participation in Programme
Saab is to create a new centre in Britain as a hub for Swedish participation in the Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS) programme, the company announced on 20 July.
Saab is committed to build a long-term relationship with the UK related to FCAS by initially investing £50 million (€54.9 million). The UK and Sweden signed an MoU on FCAS co-operation in July last year and Saab leads Sweden’s FCAS industrial participation in close co-operation with the nation’s MoD.
Saab continuously plans for future developments in every domain. Combat Air is an important part of the company’s strategy for long-term growth as it takes the steps necessary to remain at the forefront of system-of-systems development and other advanced technologies within the domain.
”Combat Air is a key component of Sweden’s defence policy and it is defined as a national security interest. Saab’s FCAS strategy ensures that the technology is in place to support a long-term future air capability and also to support continuous upgrades of GRIPEN E for decades to come,” explains Micael Johansson, Saab’s President and CEO. “Saab took the decision to create a new FCAS centre so that we can further develop the close working relationship with the other FCAS industrial partners and the UK Ministry of Defence. This emphasises the importance of both FCAS and the United Kingdom to Saab’s future.”
The exact location of the FCAS centre is currently under consideration, but it is apparent that it forms part of Saab’s long-term plans for the UK market – to develop indigenous capabilities, invest in research and development and grow intellectual property.