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Saab wants to go back to the auto-industry

Swedish defence company Saab is reportedly making its way back to the auto-industry.

The Swedish company used to make both cars and fighter aircrafts (and never once made a Transformer, unforgivable) – however, back in the 1990s the company separated the two units. But it looks like the Saab is entering the automotive market with its defence technology. Saab’s CEO Håkan Buskhe told Swedish paper SvD that the company will create a new company – where Saab will gather its solutions and work towards the auto-industry – during the spring of 2017. “We have already started discussions with various companies and we are aiming, primarily, at the European auto-industry,” Håkan Buskhe told SvD. One of the solutions is a customised version of the IT system developed for the future Gripen E. This new system is modular in the sense that it make a difference between critical systems – while other functions can be added or changed. According to Buskhe this particular type of solution will be relevant in the future with autonomous vehicles. “If we’re going to have self-driving cars, we must be absolutely sure that no one access the traffic critical parts and alter them. The architecture we have developed for Gripen fits very well for the auto-industry and this could become a classic example of a good spin-off of the defence industry,” says Buskhe according to SvD In addition to the IT system, Saab also want’s to continue working on its radar solution, which is based on electronic circuits of Gallium nitride – making it more durable while allowing high output.