Saab tapped to continue work on Sweden’s next flagship fighter jet

VIENNA — Saab has received a new contract worth approximately SEK 2.9 billion (roughly $303 million) from Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration, FMV, to continue conceptual work on the country’s future fighter system, the company announced in a statement Wednesday.

The deal’s work period runs from 2026 to 2028, with options extending into 2029 and 2030, and builds on agreements signed in 2024 and 2025.

According to Saab, the work covers flying and ground-based demonstrators, advanced studies and the development of future system concepts for both manned and unmanned platforms. The company says the program is meant to strengthen Sweden’s capabilities in systems integration, autonomy, signature adaptation, propulsion and digital development, while reducing technical risk and preserving “freedom of action” for future decisions on the country’s air combat capability.

Lars Tossman, head of Saab’s Aeronautics business area, said in the statement that FMV’s continued confidence in Saab is “crucial to further develop and demonstrate new technologies that will be central to future fighter system.”

The order is the third in a series of awards tied to Sweden’s Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg (KFS) program, also referred to as Vägval stridsflyg, which is intended to shape the country’s air power beyond 2040. The initial contract was signed in March 2024, followed by a SEK 2.6 billion extension in October 2025 covering 2025 to 2027. That earlier phase included plans for a flying demonstrator, with concept and technology development originally set to wrap up by the third quarter of 2026 and initial flight tests to follow in 2027.

Saab has previously outlined a family of concepts under its F-series branding, including a crewed fighter alongside subsonic and supersonic uncrewed platforms of varying weight classes and form factors.

The KFS was launched after Sweden withdrew from the British-led Team Tempest project, which would later become GCAP, in 2023, opting instead for its own domestic development.

Saab plays a crucial role in Sweden as the country’s only manufacturer of fighter jets, and its aircraft have made up the backbone of the Swedish air force for decades. Currently, the Saab Gripen plays this role.