Sweden Expands Future Fighter System Project with New Saab Contract
Sweden is taking significant steps towards enhancing its air combat capabilities, as Saab secures a contract worth approximately SEK 2.9 billion (around $303 million) from the country’s Defense Materiel Administration (FMV). This new agreement, announced by the company on Wednesday, continues Sweden’s investment in its future fighter system.
The contract outlines a timeline from 2026 to 2028, with potential extensions into 2029 and 2030, following prior agreements made in 2024 and 2025. Saab’s work will encompass both flying and ground-based demonstrators, advanced studies, and the creation of future system concepts for manned and unmanned platforms.
According to Saab, the initiative aims to bolster Sweden’s expertise in several critical areas including systems integration, autonomy, signature adaptation, propulsion, and digital development. This effort is designed to lower technical risks and maintain Sweden’s “freedom of action” in future air combat decisions.
Lars Tossman, the head of Saab’s Aeronautics business area, expressed in the statement, “FMV’s continued confidence in Saab is crucial to further develop and demonstrate new technologies that will be central to future fighter system.”
This order represents the third in a sequence of contracts related to Sweden’s Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg (KFS) program, also known as Vägval stridsflyg, which aims to define the nation’s air power strategy beyond 2040. The initial agreement was signed in March 2024, followed by a SEK 2.6 billion extension in October 2025 covering the period from 2025 to 2027. This earlier stage involved plans for a flying demonstrator, with the goal of completing concept and technology development by the third quarter of 2026 and conducting initial flight tests in 2027.
Saab has previously presented a series of concepts under its F-series branding, featuring a manned fighter alongside various unmanned subsonic and supersonic platforms with different weight classes and designs.
The KFS initiative was launched after Sweden decided to exit the British-led Team Tempest project, which evolved into the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), in 2023, choosing instead to focus on domestic development.
As Sweden’s sole manufacturer of fighter jets, Saab has long been integral to the nation’s defense, with its aircraft, particularly the Saab Gripen, serving as the backbone of the Swedish air force for numerous years.
