Saab Will Establish a Gripen Production Center in Canada If the Country Chooses Swedish Fighter Jets

The Swedish company Saab has presented Canada with a plan to establish a production line for Gripen E/F fighter jets on Canadian soil.

Saab CEO Johansson announced this on August 22 during a briefing in Sweden, although the company had mentioned it in its reports as early as the beginning of the year.

If Canada selects the Gripen, Saab is ready to establish a full-scale production center in the country. According to Johansson, production could begin in about five years.

Saab previously said it would produce about 15 aircraft per year and intended to increase that to 25–30.

For Saab, the Canadian contract would represent an opportunity to enter a new market and expand its production capabilities.

In 2023, Canada signed an agreement to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets from the American corporation Lockheed Martin.

At that time, the fighters were expected to reach full operational capability between 2032 and 2034.

Canada was to pay about $85 million per aircraft—the same amount the U.S. pays —since Canada is one of the partner nations that have funded the F-35’s development since 1997.

If the F-35’s prime contractor—Lockheed Martin—had been unable to meet Canada’s conditions on issues such as pricing, delivery guarantees, and risk-mitigation agreements, Canada could have purchased the fighter jets from the Swedish company Saab.

However, as early as 2025, an audit revealed that the total cost of the program to purchase American F-35 Lightning IIs had risen by 45%.

Following this, an EKOS poll showed that Canadian citizens support purchasing Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets instead of American F-35A Lightning IIs.

Canada remains committed to purchasing the first 16 F-35s, but the future of the program to acquire 88 fighter jets remains uncertain. Canada’s Department of National Defense has already stated that it is considering “all options,” including a mixed fleet.