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Should Canada choose to fly the Swedish-built Gripen-E, the country’s air force could receive the first aircraft as quickly — or perhaps even sooner — than the long-awaited American-manufactured F-35, the CEO of Saab signalled Thursday.
Micael Johansson also said the defence giant is willing to set up not only an assembly factory in Canada, but a full-fledged manufacturing centre and a research and development hub.
He added, however, that the deal, which would include technology and intellectual property transfers, would be predicated on Canada deciding to purchase the fighter.
The two go "hand-in-hand," Johansson told CBC's Power & Politics host David Cochrane.
Johansson was part of a weeklong corporate, economic and political blitz, which included the Swedish royal family, to convince the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney to partner with the Nordic country on a host defence and industrial initiatives, including fighter jets.
The Liberal government is reviewing whether to proceed with a full order of 88 F-35 fighters from U.S.-based Lockheed Martin. It has been suggested that Canada could accept the first batch of 16 stealth jets and then pivot to filling out the rest of the order with Saab Gripens — or some other aircraft.
WATCH | Saab CEO details his pitch to Canada:Swedish defence firm Saab wants Canada to buy and build its fighter jets. Saab CEO Micael Johansson says jet manufacturing could create 9,000 to 10,000 jobs over three to five years in the country. 'It's up to Canada to decide,' says Johansson.Documents tabled in Parliament show the first Canadian F-35s will arrive at a U.S. air force base late next year where pilots and mechanics will begin training on them. It will be 2028 before the first U.S.-made jets arrive at Canadian bases.
Johansson said Canada could have its first Gripens at about the same time.
“We can start delivering across to Canada if they select a dual slate in three years time,” Johansson said.
If a Saab facility is stood up, the first Canadian-manufactured Gripens would be rolling off the assembly line in “roughly, between, three and five years depending on the setup,” he said.
During that build-up phase, Johansson reiterated that as many as 9,000 to 10,000 jobs could be created in Canada.
The company established an assembly facility in Brazil following that country’s decision to buy the Gripen. There were apparently promises of thousands of jobs, not dissimilar to the hype surrounding a possible Canadian deal.
Located at facilities in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, the fighter jet line in that country employs about 200 people, according to Saab press release from the 2023 inauguration of the line.
Johansson said the first jet there is just completing assembly.
“It will ramp up from now and onwards,” he said. “So we are in an early stage now.”
It is one of the reasons Canadian political parties are taking the eye-popping job numbers with a grain of salt.
“I want to believe that at some point in time, every government, Quebec, Canada, will start telling all those companies … if you promise something you [must] deliver it," Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said earlier this week.
It has long been speculated that Montreal-based Bombardier would be the big beneficiary if Saab were to start assembling Gripens in Canada. The two companies are already involved in a partnership to produce the GlobalEye surveillance and early warning plane.
On Wednesday, Sweden’s defence minister suggested that the assembly of Gripen fighters in Canada might not be predicated on the country actually placing an order for jets. Pal Jonson said Sweden is facing a defence capacity crunch and an order for as many as 150 Gripen-Es from Ukraine would stretch existing production lines too far.
Johansson, however, was unequivocal on Thursday, saying it doesn’t make sense to go to the trouble of establishing another facility and transferring technology without an order from Canada.