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The SAAB Group, manufacturer of Gripen fighter jets, is establishing an aviation development center in Hungary, offering significant opportunities for Hungarian engineers to participate in the high-tech industry of combat aircraft manufacturing — announced Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on Wednesday in Linköping, Sweden.
The minister first emphasized that the cooperation between Hungary and the SAAB Group regarding the Gripen fighter jets goes back more than twenty years, and these jets have been instrumental in guaranteeing Hungary’s air security. He pointed out that,
until now, the Hungarian Air Force has operated fourteen Gripens, but the fleet will be expanded by four additional aircraft next year.
“This will not only strengthen Hungary’s national defense — especially in this turbulent geopolitical era — but also enhance European security. With these four new jets, we will continue contributing to the airspace defense of six other European countries,” he said. He recalled that Hungarian Gripens regularly participate in defending the airspace not only over neighboring Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, but also in the Baltic region. For example, starting this August, Hungarian pilots will once again serve there for four months.
Given the current geopolitical and European security climate, delivering military performance on NATO and the EU’s eastern flank is a high-priority and increasingly critical task,”
he stressed.
A new aerospace engineering centre will be established in Budapest by @Saab, strengthening Hungary’s role in European combat aircraft development. It will offer major opportunities for Hungarian engineers & boost our air defence capabilities from 14 fighter jets to 18 next year. pic.twitter.com/0N4XOZBQuQ
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) April 16, 2025
Szijjártó also underlined that Hungary’s cooperation with the SAAB Group extends beyond this. An agreement has been reached with the company to establish an aviation development center in Hungary. He elaborated that this will be a major engineering center where important development work will be carried out for the aircraft manufacturer.
“In today’s security and geopolitical climate, demand for fighter jets has significantly increased. This naturally necessitates further developments and expanded engineering capacities. One of these new engineering capacities — a new aviation development center within the SAAB Group — will be established in Budapest, Hungary,” he announced. According to the minister, this will provide substantial opportunities for Hungarian engineers to take part in this cutting-edge industry.
This new engineering development center will put Hungary on the map of European countries involved in fighter aircraft development, it will boost the technological standard of the Hungarian economy, and it will help elevate our economy to a new level,”
he explained. “The cooperation between Hungary and the SAAB Group is thus entering a new phase of development (…) Through this partnership, we can protect our own airspace — so far with fourteen jets, and from next year, with eighteen,” he added.
Via MTI; Featured picture: Wikipedia