Navy League 2023: Saab moves to expand US presence

Saab will produce the MK39 Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Target (EMATT) for the US Navy. (Janes/Marc Selinger)

Saab is adding employees and facilities to its US footprint to accommodate new and growing programmes in the country, according to an official at the Sweden-based defence and aerospace company.

Saab is preparing a new 10,000 sq ft (929 m²) factory in Cranston, Rhode Island, to produce the MK39 Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Target (EMATT) for the US Navy, said Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab Inc, Saab's US arm. Saab received an EMATT development contract in September 2022 and its first production order for the sonobuoy-sized target in late March 2023. A new 4,500 sq ft engineering office in Quincy, Massachusetts, will support underwater programmes, including EMATT.

Saab is also readying a new 19,000 sq ft facility in Oceanside, California, to support live land-based training for the US Marine Corps, Smith told Janes on 4 April at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2023 conference held in National Harbor, Maryland. Saab received a modified contract for the Marine Corps Training Instrumentation System (MCTIS) in 2022.

To support these and other efforts, including the T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet that Saab is building with Boeing for the US Air Force, Saab expects to increase its workforce by 50% to 1,200 employees by 2025, Smith said.