Last month, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine interviewed Saab’s CEO, Micael Johansson, about the company’s programs in general and, in particular, its efforts in the German market.
Saab AB is a notable defence original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in that its platform offerings are more the result of original design and integration work than of indigenous sourcing. In fact, at times, one can use Saab AB and Sweden interchangeably, as the OEM operates solely on the basis of its country’s core industrial strengths and a pragmatic supply-chain sourcing approach.
The methodology is grounded in the reality that Sweden cannot develop and/or feasibly scale all the inputs required for a complex defence platform, such as a fighter aircraft.
For example, if it attempted to develop the turbofan engine, flight control systems, alloys, electronics, and all munitions from scratch, indigenously, the best-case outcome would be a high-cost product that it could not amortize because it would never generate sufficient orders.
Hence, over the decades, Sweden – or Saab AB – gradually shifted its focus to becoming a strong, if not among the world’s strongest, integrator.
For example, Sweden’s 2025 Defence Industry Strategy formalizes an integrator-centric approach by identifying specific “strategic” materiel categories – e.g., combat aircraft, underwater platforms such as submarines, command-and-control, and cartridge ammunition – and calling for partnerships and industrial measures centred on those categories rather than on indigenizing every input.
A recent – and fast-growing success story – of this example is the GlobalEye platform. The aircraft platform, surface-facing radar, and many other inputs are sourced from abroad.
The base aircraft is the Canadian Bombardier Global Express 6000, the surface radar is the Leonardo SeaSpray series, and the optronics are from Star. However, the airborn early warning (AEW) radar, the Erieye-ER, was indigenously developed.
Thus, Saab AB integrated readily available off-the-shelf components and its proprietary systems into a cohesive package, one that evidently performs at a level comparable to most of the wider industry. With French orders on the books, the GlobalEye may rise to become Western Europe’s choice for airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems.
Of course, this does not mean Saab AB does not build its own platforms. It evidently does via the Gripen fighter and A26 submarine. However, Saab AB designs its products using the inputs it can readily source domestically and abroad. It strategically integrates its proprietary IP to ensure that multinational sourcing operates as a package, and in doing so, is rewarded with orders worldwide, particularly in Europe.
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