Saab secures $302 million contract for Sweden's future

Saab has been awarded a new contract worth approximately SEK 2.9 billion, or about $302 million, by the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV). The order, announced on September 9, 2026, funds continued work on Sweden's future combat air system from 2026 through 2028, with options for the following two years.

This contract extends studies and demonstrator activities that began under earlier agreements in 2024 and 2025. The work is designed to shape Sweden's combat air capability for the period after 2040.

Program scope and demonstrator timeline

The new order covers flying and ground-based demonstrators, advanced studies, and the development of future system concepts. These concepts include both manned and unmanned aircraft. Saab states the program aims to strengthen Swedish expertise in critical areas like systems integration, autonomy, and propulsion.

This latest contract extends previously scheduled demonstrator work. Under a prior SEK 2.676 billion contract addition from October 2025, concept development was set to continue through the third quarter of 2026, with demonstrator flights scheduled through 2027. The new agreement adds at least one more year of activity, potentially lasting through 2030 if all options are used.

Lars Tossman, head of Saab's Aeronautics business area, expressed the company's satisfaction. "We are very pleased that FMV continues to show confidence in Saab through this new contract," he said in the release.

Integration into broader defense planning

This contract is a component of Sweden's Future Combat Aviation Concept study, known as Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg (KFS). Saab first publicly outlined KFS in May 2024. The study falls under the wider Vägval stridsflyg program, which is managed by FMV in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI).

FMV has stated the overarching goal is to build the technical and operational foundation for a future government decision. That decision will determine how Sweden maintains its combat air capability after the year 2040.

Testing and unmanned system development

Elements of the future system are already undergoing flight tests. FMV funds Project Beyond within the KFS framework. Under this initiative, a Gripen E fighter flew with Helsing's Centaur artificial intelligence agent over the Baltic Sea in May and June of 2025.

Saab has also provided a timeline for its work on unmanned combat systems. On August 22, 2026, at Malmen Air Base, the company revealed a full-scale model of an uncrewed combat air system concept named A3-001. Peter Nilsson, head of Saab's Advanced Programs business unit, stated the company aims to fly unmanned demonstrators with fighter-like characteristics before 2030.

Nilsson described the A3 concept as a separate Saab proposal for a system that could be developed in the mid-2030s. This would only proceed if Sweden decides to build upon the current phase of research and demonstrator work.