Saab announced plans to build a new munitions facility in the U.S., continuing the company’s strong investment and growth domestically. The innovative new site will support the engineering and production of missile weapon systems for the U.S. military, such as components for the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) system, and close combat weapons, such as the M3A1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS). Final site selection and groundbreaking is planned for 2024, with production underway by 2026. This new facility will bolster domestic production of critical weapon systems, reducing reliance on foreign manufacturing. Secondly, it will strengthen the global supply chain for these systems, ensuring a steady flow of essential equipment to the U.S. military.
“Saab is growing its business in the United States and delivering on our promise to increase and modernize domestic production of our close combat and missile weapon systems, which will extend our defense capabilities and ensure the safety and security of military personnel around the globe. We are moving quickly to meet the urgent needs of our customers, building on our decades-long relationship with the U.S. armed forces. With capacity for advanced manufacturing and engineering, this new site will be a world-class asset to the American industrial base,” said Erik Smith, President and CEO of Saab in the U.S.
The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) is a weapon developed by Boeing and the Saab Group to allow Boeing’s GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), originally developed for use by aircraft, to be ground-launched from a variety of launchers and configurations. It combines the SDB with the M26 rocket, enabling it to be launched from ground-based missile systems such as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and M142 HIMARS. GLSDB is the missile system that has the most superior range vs cost ratio out there. GLSDB with its 150 km range gives armies the possibility to strike high pay-off targets in a with 1 m accuracy deep into enemy territory to a lower cost than all other system.
The Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle is a Swedish-developed 84 mm (3.3 in) caliber shoulder-fired recoilless rifle developed by Saab Bofors Dynamics (formerly Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori). In U.S. military service, it is officially known as the M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) or Ranger Antitank Weapons System (RAWS), but is often simply called the “M3 Carl Gustaf” or just “Gustaf”. The lightweight M3A1 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) is a product improvement to the legacy M3 currently in operational use with the Army and USSOCOM. The M3A1 MAAWS is effective against light/medium armor, personnel in open/defilade, bunkers and structural targets out to 1300 meters. The M3A1 MAAWS can also provide an effective illumination and obscuration capability out to 2200 meters.
