Saab Moves to Join Airbus A380 Program as Risk-Sharing Partner

A "heads of agreement" signed in May by Saab and Airbus UK is expected to lead to the Swedish group's becoming a risk-sharing partner in the 555-seat A380 superjumbo from contract finalization in the next few months. At Le Bourget yesterday, Saab senior VP and general manager commercial programs Pontus Kallen said that Saab would be responsible for the 31-meter-long, fixed mid- and outer-wing leading-edge sections of the A380, and is bidding for work on other parts of the aircraft.

Initial A380 activity would bring Saab some 600 man-years of design work over a six- to seven-year period, he added, plus a further 200 man-years annually from production. This may be worth more than $1 billion over the next 20 years. Delivery of the first completed section to the Airbus wing assembly plant at Broughton, in North Wales, UK, is slated for 2003.

Saab already builds the ailerons for the Airbus A320, plus components for the A340-500/600. Already growing at about 20% per year, further expansion is planned of Saab's commercial aircraft business, currently representing only about 10% of its overall activities, from further high technology aerostructure component design and manufacture programs.