When Saab, Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, was founded in 1937, its primary aim was to meet the need for a domestic military aircraft industry in Sweden.
The aircraft company
With the deliveries of its first aircraft, the light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft B 17, Saab became the dominant supplier to the Swedish Air Force. Saab and the Swedish Air Force have progressed together through various generations of military jet aircraft, introducing world-leading technology every step of the way.
In the late 1940’s Saab introduced the J 29 Tunnan fighter, which was followed in the 1950’s by Lansen and later by Draken (1960) and Viggen (1971). The first deliveries of Gripen, the first of the fourth generation fighter aircraft to enter service, began in 1993. In 1999 South Africa signed the first export order for Gripen. Since then the Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand have also signed contracts.
The engineering company
Military aircraft production led not only to commercial aircraft production but also a number of other businesses and products. In the 1940’s automobile manufacture began. In the 1960’s Saab helped to create Sweden’s computer, missile and space industries. In 1969 Saab and Scania merged to form Saab-Scania, a company combining aircraft and defence systems with the manufacture of automobiles, trucks and buses.
In 1990 the passenger car division became an independent company, Saab Automobile. Between 2000 and 2010 Saab Automobile was wholly owned by General Motors, but was acquired by Dutch sportscar manufacturer Spyker Cars in 2010 . In 1995 Saab-Scania was demerged into two companies when business and truck manufacturer Scania was separated from Saab.
The defence and security company
In 2000 Saab acquired the defence group Celsius, and with it over a century of Swedish defence industry history. Bofors, for example, has manufactured cannons since the 19th century. Some parts of Saab trace their roots back to Philips, Datasaab, Ericsson, AGA and Satt Electronics. By acquiring Celsius, Saab brought a large part of Swedish defence industry history together under one roof and created Scandinavia’s dominant company in the field.
2007, Saab celebrated its 70th anniversary and the broad-based product range is more focused on future defence needs and a safer society. There has been a gradual shift in Saab's operations to be more internationally active, more civil security and more service supplier focused on solutions.