Saab to open munitions production facility in Michigan

Saab will open a munitions production facility in Grayling, Michigan, the company announced Tuesday.

The Swedish company, which plans to break ground by the end of the year, said it will use the facility for final assembly and integration of shoulder-fired munitions and precision fire systems.

Manufacturing work will begin in early 2026, according to a company statement.

“We are making a long-term commitment not only to the U.S. defense industrial base, but to the local community as well,” Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab in the U.S., said. “Saab plays a positive role in the communities where we live and work, creating jobs and investing in the local community, and we look forward to joining the Grayling community.”

The Michigan site, chosen from six possible locations, presented the “most efficient way to execute the work that we have to get done,” Smith told Defense News. The 388-acre plot is located near the largest Army National Guard training base in the country , and the region also has an experienced workforce needed for the type of production.

Smith first told Defense News of Saab’s plans to grow its footprint in the U.S. with a new facility focused on manufacturing ground combat weapons and missile systems in March. He noted six states were in the running.

The new site is part of a global manufacturing push by the company to quadruple its global capacity to produce its ground combat weapons, he said.

“As this facility ramps up, what you will see is a combination of products that Saab is very well known for and some new products that really haven’t hit the market yet.”

The new facility will create at least 70 jobs, the company statement notes. There is potential to hire even more employees as the facility gets up and running, according to Smith.

The site size “allows for expansion for when we need it,” Smith said. “I do envision engineering capacity there as well as the business evolves,” he added, but noted, “right now we are pretty laser focused on manufacturing capacity.”

The facility will feature advanced manufacturing capability and an innovation center to enhance munitions production capacity stateside, according to Smith. He also said it will support the production of components for the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb, or GLSDB, system and close combat weapons.

Saab joins a wide variety of defense manufacturers in Michigan, a state with a long legacy of weapons production.

“We built the arsenal of democracy to win WWII and will keep rolling up our sleeves to protect our national defense,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in the company statement. “We are building on our economic momentum and strong reputation as a leader in advanced manufacturing.”

Saab will now have 10 facilities operating in the U.S. Other locations include West Lafayette, Indiana, for aerospace advanced manufacturing ; Syracuse, New York, for radar and sensor systems; and Cranston, Rhode Island, and Quincy, Massachusetts, for autonomous and undersea systems.

The facility will follow a similar model to what Saab did with its West Lafayette site, Smith told Defense News. In that case, the first engineering and manufacturing development fuselages were built in Sweden, then, in parallel, Saab built the Indiana plant with high-end technology to produce the fuselages beginning with low-rate initial production.

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

萨博公司周二宣布，将在密歇根州格雷林开设一家军火生产厂。

这家瑞典公司计划在今年年底前破土动工，并表示将利用该设施对肩射弹药和精确火力系统进行最终组装和集成。

根据公司声明，生产工作将于 2026 年初开始。

“我们不仅对美国国防工业基地，也对当地社区做出了长期承诺，”萨博美国公司总裁兼首席执行官埃里克·史密斯表示。“萨博在我们生活和工作的社区中发挥着积极作用，创造就业机会并投资于当地社区，我们期待着融入格雷林社区。”

史密斯告诉《防务新闻》，从六个备选地点中选定的密歇根州厂址是“完成我们必须完成的工作的最有效方式”。这块占地388英亩的地块毗邻美国最大的陆军国民警卫队训练基地，而且该地区还拥有此类生产所需的经验丰富的劳动力。

史密斯最早于三月份向《防务新闻》透露了萨博公司计划在美国新建一家专注于生产地面作战武器和导弹系统的工厂，以扩大其在美国的业务版图。他指出，有六个州参与了竞标。

他表示，新厂址是该公司全球制造扩张计划的一部分，旨在将其全球地面作战武器生产能力提高四倍。

“随着该工厂产能的提升，您将会看到萨博公司一些广为人知的产品，以及一些尚未上市的新产品。”

公司声明指出，新工厂将至少创造70个就业岗位。史密斯表示，随着工厂逐步投入运营，未来还有可能招聘更多员工。

史密斯表示，该厂址的规模“允许我们在需要时进行扩建”。他补充道：“随着业务的发展，我也设想在那里发展工程能力”，但他同时指出，“目前我们主要专注于提升生产能力”。

据史密斯介绍，该设施将配备先进的制造能力和创新中心，以提升美国本土的弹药生产能力。他还表示，该设施还将支持陆基小直径炸弹（GLSDB）系统和近战武器的零部件生产。

萨博加入了密歇根州众多国防制造商的行列，密歇根州有着悠久的武器生产传统。

“我们为了赢得二战而打造了民主的武器库，并将继续撸起袖子保卫我们的国防，”密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默在公司声明中表示。“我们正凭借经济增长势头和作为先进制造业领导者的强大声誉继续发展壮大。”

萨博目前在美国拥有 10 家运营工厂。其他地点包括印第安纳州西拉法叶（航空航天先进制造）、纽约州锡拉丘兹（雷达和传感器系统）、罗德岛州克兰斯顿和马萨诸塞州昆西（自主和水下系统）。

史密斯告诉《防务新闻》，该工厂将采用与萨博公司在西拉法叶特工厂类似的模式。在萨博的案例中，首批工程和制造开发机身在瑞典制造完成，随后萨博公司同步在印第安纳州建造了一座采用高端技术的工厂，用于生产机身，最初以小批量生产为主。

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。