Embraer and Saab have signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) setting out a framework for the potential production of 20 additional Gripen aircraft at Embraer's industrial complex in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Embraer would take responsibility for assembling the aircraft, complementing Saab's final assembly line in Linköping, Sweden, as the two companies look to meet global demand for the Swedish fighter. The agreement builds on a decade-long partnership, adding delivery capacity within a globally integrated manufacturing model and greater flexibility to meet future customer requirements.

Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, says: “The expansion of this partnership with Saab reflects the mutual trust built over the past ten years and reinforces Embraer's strategic role in the Gripen programme.”

Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab, adds: “The partnership between Saab and Embraer reinforces our long-term commitment to Latin America.”

Embraer's Gavião Peixoto facility (GPX) has developed manufacturing capabilities and a skilled workforce, and operates as part of a production model bringing together Brazilian and international suppliers. Under the existing Gripen programme for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), engineers, test pilots, technicians, assembly operators and maintenance specialists have been trained in Sweden through technology transfer and on-the-job training, work that has built expertise on both sides over more than ten years of collaboration.