SAAB prepares for UK expansion

Global defence and security company, Saab AB will open new UK headquarters and draw on British engineering expertise in a new Saab Design Centre in London.

With 200 employees already based throughout the UK, Saab is preparing to expand its reach into the British defence industry by opening a central London office to co-ordinate all in-country operations.

The opening of the company's new UK headquarters will be followed by the opening of an engineering design centre. The facility will capitalise on the UK's maritime jet engineering expertise and is scheduled to open in the late Summer.

Initially staffed by approximately 10 British employees, its first project will be to design the carrier-based version of the Gripen new-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft based on studies completed by Saab in Sweden.

Additionally, Saab is also to centralise its underwater vehicle development and production in the UK. Saab is in the process of merging its military underwater vehicles operations in Sweden with Saab Seaeye, a UK subsidiary based in Fareham, Hampshire, which is the market leader in the design and manufacture of electric remotely operated underwater vehicles for the civilian market. The move to Fareham integrates all operations to benefit the company's significant global customer base in the civilian and defence markets.

Saab President & CEO Håkan Buskhe, said: "Saab has a long and successful relationship with the UK, and I believe our expansion will create the conditions for a wider, strategic partnership that will benefit both nations. Today cooperation is vital in the global defence sector and the UK's requirements and expertise firmly complements our own ambitions and vision."

Saab has around 12,500 employees globally with some 200 employees across the United Kingdom, Saab has a long history of providing defence products and services to the UK Armed Forces, including soldiers Combat and Counter-IED training, infantry weapons and the Arthur and Giraffe AMB ground-based radars which help secure the lives of UK troops deployed overseas.