Saab Group (originally Svenska Aeroplan AB, later SAAB and Saab AB; listen(help·info)) is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile. Between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania-Vabis, known as Saab-Scania. The two were de-merged in 1995 by the new owners, Investor AB. Despite the demerger, both Saab and Scania share the right to use the griffin logo,[2] which originates from the coat of arms of the Swedish region of Scania.[3]
Aerospace is the human effort in science, engineering and business to fly in the atmosphere of Earth (aeronautics) and surrounding space (astronautics). Aerospace organizations research, design, manufacture, operate, or maintain aircraft or spacecraft. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications.
Saab Automobile AB was a manufacturer of automobiles that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, SAAB AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.
A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The European Union defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorized road vehicle, that by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for payment or not: (1) more than nine persons, including the driver; (2) goods and "standard fuel tanks". This means the tanks permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all motor vehicles of the same type as the vehicle in question and whose permanent fitting lets fuel be used directly, both for propulsion and, where appropriate, to power a refrigeration system. Gas tanks fitted to motor vehicles for the direct use of diesel as a fuel are considered standard fuel tanks.
"Svenska Aeroplan AB (aktiebolag)" (Swedish for "Swedish Aeroplane Company Limited") (SAAB) was founded in 1937 in Trollhättan,[4] with the merger of Svenska Aero AB (SAAB) and Linköping based VASJA[5] the headquarters moved to Linköping. The style "Saab" replaced "SAAB" around 1950.[5]
Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated AB, Ab, or A/B, roughly equivalent to the abbreviations Ltd and PLC. The State authority responsible for registration of aktiebolag in Sweden is called the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
Trollhättan is a city and the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 46,457 inhabitants in 2010. It is located 75 km north of Sweden's second-largest city, Gothenburg.
Svenska Aero AB (SAAB) was a Swedish aircraft manufacturer on Hästholmen in Lidingö. The company was founded September 10, 1921, to license build Caspar-Werke and Heinkel aircraft. The company was bought by ASJA in 1932.
Originally manufacturing aircraft, the company sought ways in which to diversify its business. In the late 1940s the company began manufacturing cars at its Saab Automobile division, based in Trollhättan. The first car was the Saab 92; full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Ursaab.[6]
Saab 92 is the first production automobile from Saab. The design was very aerodynamic for its time, with a drag coefficient of 0.30. The entire body was stamped out of one piece of sheet metal and then cut to accommodate doors and windows. Full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Ursaab. All of them were of the Deluxe version. A standard version was advertised, but nobody was interested in buying it so no standard versions were produced.
In the late 1950s Saab ventured into the computer market with Datasaab.[4] The company was a result partly of the need to make a computer that would be small enough to mount in an aeroplane as navigational equipment. During the 1960s several computers were developed and sold to European countries, for uses such as banking. The aircraft computer (CK 37) was used in 1971 in the Viggen. The company was sold in 1975 to Sperry UNIVAC, while Saab retained its flight computer development.
Datasaab was the computer division of, and later a separate company spun off from, aircraft manufacturer Saab in Linköping, Sweden. Its history dates back to December 1954, when Saab got a license to build its own copy of BESK, an early Swedish computer design using vacuum tubes, from Matematikmaskinnämnden. This clone was completed in 1957 and was named SARA. Its computing power was needed for design calculations for the next generation jet fighter Saab 37 Viggen.
UNIVAC is a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and successor organizations.
In May 1965, the company name was changed to Saab AB to reflect its broad range of activities.[5]
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber, is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to the mechanical compression. Diesel engines work by compressing only the air. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a high degree that atomised diesel fuel injected into the combustion chamber ignites spontaneously. This contrasts with spark-ignition engines such as a petrol engine or gas engine, which use a spark plug to ignite an air-fuel mixture. In diesel engines, glow plugs may be used to aid starting in cold weather, or when the engine uses a lower compression-ratio, or both. The original diesel engine operates on the "constant pressure" cycle of gradual combustion and produces no audible knock.
Saab-Scania AB was a Swedish vehicle manufacturer that was formed from the 1969 merger of Saab AB and Scania AB. The company was split in 1995.
In 1991 Investor AB completed a leveraged buyout of Saab-Scania AB. Investor AB acquired all the outstanding shares in Saab-Scania for approximately SEK 21 billion.[8][9][10] Saab-Scania became a wholly owned subsidiary of Investor AB and the company was de-listed.[11]
In 1995 Saab-Scania was divided by Investor AB into two independent companies, de-merging into Scania AB and Saab AB. The intention by Investor AB was to broaden ownership in the two companies later.[12] Following the sale of 50% of the car division Saab Automobile AB to General Motors, the main reason behind the merger with lorry manufacturer Scania-Vabis in 1968 had disappeared.
Saab Military Aircraft and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems) formed in 1995 the joint venture company Saab-BAe Gripen AB, to manufacture, market and support Gripen internationally. This co-operation was extended in 2001 with the formation of Gripen International for the same purpose.[13]
From 1998 until 2005 the largest shareholder in Saab was the British aerospace company BAE Systems, following its acquisition of a 35% stake from Investor AB by its predecessor, British Aerospace. In January 2005, BAE Systems reduced its shareholding to 20%. Investor AB maintained a 20% share.
16 November 1999, Saab announced its intention is to purchase Celsius AB and the acquisition was concluded by early March 2000.[14]
In December 2005 Saab joined the Dassault nEUROn project as a major partner.
In October 2008 the company announced its intention to merge its operations with that of Simrad Optronics. The new unit will develop high-tech optronics products and will be headquartered in Norway, although other details of the new arrangement have not been finalized.[15]
In 2010 the company restructured from fifteen business units into five business areas; Aeronautics, Dynamics, Electronic Defence Systems, Security and Defence Solutions, and Support and Services. According to Saab the restructuring was undertaken to become more market and customer oriented.[16]
In March 2010, BAE Systems sold half of its 20% stake in the company to Investor AB, which then became the major shareholder.[17] In June 2011, the British company eventually sold its remaining stake bringing its 16-year involvement in Saab to an end.[18]
As of June 2012, Investor AB owns a 30% stake in the company (39.5% of the voting rights) and is the majority owner.[citation needed]
Aircraft production
The main focus of aircraft production is fighter aircraft. Saab has been making aircraft since the 1930s, and the jet predecessors of the JAS 39 Gripen were the Tunnan, the Lansen, the Draken and the Viggen. The last civilian models made by Saab were the Saab 340 and Saab 2000. Both were mid-range turboprop-powered airliners. The development and the manufacturing of these aircraft takes place in Linköping.
Aeronautics offers airborne systems, related subsystems, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and aerostructures. The business area Aeronautics is responsible for airframe structures for JAS 39 Gripen, and whole sections for Airbus, Boeing and NH90; & system development of the JAS 39 Gripen and the Skeldar VTOL UAV. Aeronautics is also partner in the European joint UAV-project Dassault nEUROn, where Saab develop Avionics and is responsible for the overall architecture and design. Marketing and support of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet is also included in the Aeronautics business area.[19]
Dynamics
Dynamics offers ground combat weapons, missile systems, torpedoes, sensor systems, unmanned underwater vehicles and signature management systems, remotely operated vehicles for armed forces as well as civil security applications.[20]
Surveillance offers airborne surveillance solutions (including GlobalEye, Saab 2000 Erieye) AEW&C and fighter radar, ground-based and naval radar (including the Giraffe radar range), electronic warfare (including IDAS and ESTL) and combat systems and C4I solutions. [21]
Industrial Products and Services
Industrial Products and Services was established on 1 January 2015 and comprises the business units Combitech, Avionics Systems, Aerostructures, Traffic Management, Vricon as well as the development of product ideas that fall outside of Saab’s core business.
The business units within Industrial Products and Services differ from Saab’s other operations by their focus on business-to-business (B2B) customers or because they are not dependent on Saab’s principal end-customers. Other business areas within Saab have a customer base largely consisting of public authorities. With different customer groups come different management strategies and priorities. Opportunities to strengthen these operations in the long term are greater in the new organisation. Industrial Products and Services will work with individual growth strategies for each business unit.
Support and Services
Support and Services offer maintenance, integrated support solutions, field facilities, logistics and regional aircraft maintenance.[22]
Saab Aircraft Leasing leases and resells Saab aircraft to airlines. It completed 30 transactions in 2010.[23]
Saab Barracuda LLC
The Saab Barracuda LLC facility in Lillington, North Carolina, manufactures signature management products and provides customized services. Foremost among the camouflage, concealment and deception products is the Ultra Lightweight Camouflage Net System (ULCANS) which provides multi-spectral protection against visual, near infrared, thermal infrared and broadband radar detection. ULCANS is fielded with the U.S. Army and other Department of Defense organizations and is available in both woodland and desert versions.[24] Saab Barracuda is one of only two qualified suppliers of ULCANS in North America, and currently holds a competed $1.76 B contract, along with GMA Cover Corp.[25]
Bofors AB is a Swedish arms manufacturer. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years.
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, to form BAE Systems.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet). The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. It is powered by the Volvo RM12, and has a top speed of Mach 2. Later aircraft are modified for NATO interoperability standards and to undertake air to air refuelling.
The Saab 37 Viggen ("Thunderbolt") is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following the selection of a radical delta wing configuration, the resulting aircraft performed its first flight on 8 February 1967 and entered service in 21 June 1971. The Viggen holds the distinction of being the first canard design to be produced in quantity. The Viggen was also the most advanced fighter jet in Europe until the introduction of the Panavia Tornado into operational service in 1981.
The Saab 35 Draken is a Swedish fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Saab between 1955 and 1974. It was the first fully supersonic aircraft to be deployed in Western Europe.
The Swedish Air Force is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The Saab 32 Lansen is a two-seat, transonic military aircraft designed and manufactured by Saab from 1955 to 1960 for the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet). Three principal variants of the Lansen were built for attack, fighter, and reconnaissance. During its long operational life, the Saab 32 also served as an electronic warfare platform and target-tug aircraft.
Volvo Aero was a Swedish aircraft, guided missiles and rocket engine manufacturer. In 2012, the company was acquired by GKN, becoming GKN Aerospace Engine Systems.
The Saab 29, colloquially called Flygande tunnan, is a Swedish fighter designed and manufactured by Saab in the 1940s. It was Sweden's second turbojet-powered combat aircraft, the first being the Saab 21R; additionally, it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing after the Second World War, the Me 262 being the first during the war. Despite its rotund appearance, from which its name derives, the J 29 was a fast and agile aircraft for its era. It served effectively in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles into the 1970s.
The RBS-15 is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface, anti-ship missile. The later version Mk. III has the ability to attack land targets as well. The missile was developed by the Swedish company Saab Bofors Dynamics.
Saab Bofors Dynamics, located in Karlskoga and Linköping, Sweden, is a subsidiary of the Saab Group that specializes in military materiel such as missile systems and anti-tank systems.
Denel Aviation is the aircraft maintenance division of the state-owned Denel corporation of South Africa. It is one of the successors of the Atlas Aircraft Corporation.
The V3E A-Darter is a modern short-range infrared homing air-to-air missile, featuring countermeasures resistance with a 180-degree look angle and 120-degrees per second track rate, developed by South Africa's Denel Dynamics and Brazil's Mectron, Avibras and Opto Eletrônica. It will equip the South African Air Force's Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D and BAe Hawk 120, and the Brazilian Air Force's A-1M AMX, Northrop F-5BR and Gripen E/F. It was expected to be in production before the end of 2015.
STRIL is short for "Stridsledning och Luftbevakning" which means "Combat control and air surveillance" in Swedish. STRIL 50 and STRIL 60 were integrated systems for aerial warfare control including early warning radar and ground-controlled interception. The systems depended on radar and radio as primary technologies but STRIL 50 was based on manual control while STRIL 60 applied the usage of early digital computers.
F 17 Kallinge, Blekinge Flygflottilj, Blekinge Air Force Wing, or simply "F 17", is a Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Ronneby in southern Sweden. It is one of the three remaining wings in Sweden and currently has two squadrons of multirole aircraft. F 17 in the south and F 21 in the north are the two wings remaining to have operational squadrons. F 7 is a school where pilots begin their training in the JAS 39 Gripen. After that the pilot's training is moved out to the two operational wings there they learn their final skills.
The Volvo RM8 is a low-bypass afterburning turbofan jet engine developed for the Saab 37 Viggen fighter. In 1962, the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 engine was chosen to power the Viggen in absence of a suitable and available engine designed for military use. Basically a licensed-built version of the JT8D, heavily modified for supersonic speeds, with a Swedish-designed afterburner, the RM8 was produced by Svenska Flygmotor.
The Flygsystem 2020 is an ongoing project by the Swedish Air Force to develop a fifth-generation jet fighter stealth aircraft by 2020. Little public information exists about the project; there are no official statements about the current stage of development, although a video claims to show a miniature prototype test. In 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Lars Helmrich of the Swedish Air Force asked members of the Riksdag to consider the development of a new jet fighter or to upgrade all present JAS 39 multirole fighters to the NG model, claiming the early versions of the aircraft will be useless by 2020.
The following article depicts the structure of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1989 by service branch. In wartime units would come under six multi-service military area commands. These area commands, as well as their wartime structure, can be found in their respective articles listed at Swedish military areas.
↑ Kerin, John (Sep 11, 2014), "Swedes launch desperate bid for Oz submarine project", The Australian Financial Review, ’As of July 2, Saab completed a full takeover of Kockums [the designer of Australia’s existing Collins class submarines] which is now Saab Kockums and the Swedish Kingdom now controls the intellectual property for the Collins class submarines’.
↑ Erripis, Ioannis K (Apr 15, 2013), "Saab's new stealth fighter program", Aerospace, Robot pig, Saab is investigating the design of the next generation fighter that will someday eventually replace the Gripen. […] a small research program that SAAB is conduction with the University of Linköping. […] It looks similar to the Gripen and the main difference is the V-tail.
↑ Glowacki, Bartosz (Jul 13, 2010), "Saab plots bright future for Gripen programme", Flight international, Farnborough: Flight global, Sweden's decades-long history of innovation in the aerospace sector is also evidenced by its Generic Future Fighter (GFF) concept. Developed by the Fluid and Mechatronic Systems division at Linköping University's department of Management and Engineering, the design has a Gripen-like fuselage with canards and canted tails.|chapter= ignored (help)
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