Saab to Establish New Plant in U.S. for GLSDB Components Production

Saab is expanding its presence in the United States by opening a new plant for the production of weapons and GLSDB components.

This information was shared by the head of the company’s American branch with Defense News.

The new plant is part of the Swedish company’s global production project aimed at quadrupling weapons production capacity.

“We certainly see a very broad and very large market opportunity for the kind of products that we have today and the kinds of products that are being developed right now,” stated the Saab representative.

The facility will house advanced manufacturing facilities and an innovation center to expand U.S. ammunition production capacity.

The company will also produce components of GLSDB small precision ammunition.

The company plans to select a site, start work by the end of 2024, and start production by 2026.

The U.S. Air Force has already awarded Saab and its partner Boeing a contract for the GLSDВ system, which the company began delivering in 2023.

The U.S. Department of Defense has already transferred the first batch of ready-made GLSDВ systems to Ukraine.

The GLSDB is an air-launched bomb combined with a solid rocket motor.

The maximum firing distance of GLSDB bombs can reach 150 kilometers. With the help of a rocket motor, the bomb accelerates to a speed of 900-1200 m/s, after which, when it reaches an altitude of about 15-25 thousand meters, it is disconnected from the acceleration unit and begins controlled gliding towards the target.

Recall that recently, the Ukrainian military hit the location of Russian drone operators in southern Ukraine using GLSDB.