Saab UK inaugurated a new 3-building campus production site in Fareham, Hampshire, on 4 February 2025, with the ceremonial opening performed by the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
The new site will develop, manufacture and support Saab's radar systems and the SEAEYE underwater robots portfolio, with particular focus on the ultra-compact and portable GIRAFFE 1X radar and on the all-electric subsea remotely operated vehicle, SEAEYE SR20.
The site supports up to 400 jobs and is the result of investment pledged by Saab in 2023, on the back of important UK contracts (MAMBA to TAIPAN [ARTHUR] counter-battery radar update; purchase of GIRAFFE 1X for C-UAS mission and ongoing work for the GIRAFFE AMB radars used by LEAPP and SKY SABRE air defence batteries). Fareham will primarily produce and integrate the new Deployment Set, a portable configuration of the GIRAFFE 1X software-based, 3D AESA radar. It will also act as a Centre of Excellence developing follow-on UK Intellectual Property in the radar domain.
Saab UK has been growing steadily in recent years, most notably through the acquisition of BlueBear, innovative firm specialised in drone swarming and autonomy. The ROVs could also find fortune in the UK and beyond as the need for increased subsea surveillance and anti-sabotage capability drives investment by the Royal Navy and other NATO navies. Saab already supplies the mine-disposal ROV used by the UK-France binational MMCM system of systems.
The UK has acquired a confirmed total of 10 GIRAFFE 1X for the C-UAS needs of British Army and Royal Air Force Regiment, plus an 11th set which is expected to be fitted to the experimental Royal Navy vessel XV PATRICK BLACKETT.
There is every reason to believe that several more sets have been and will be provided to Ukraine. The TAIPAN program saw Saab UK re-deliver 5 upgraded counterbattery radars, on MAN SV truck bases, to the Royal Artillery. TAIPAN is the result of the mid-life upgrade of the previous MAMBA radar system, which used the BV206 as vehicle base.
At least a dozen GIRAFFE AMB radars are in service with the British Army within SKY SABRE air defence batteries. Support for the AMB radars was recently renewed for another 3+1 years, beginning 1 April 2025. More radars might have been acquired, or be acquired in the near future, if British Army plans to expand ground-based air defence come to fruition.
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