(MT Newswires) -- Saab CEO Micael Johansson points to a significant increase in demand for weapon systems, ammunition and surveillance equipment, in response to increased awareness of the need for defence in Europe since the war in Ukraine. Saab grew by 23% last year and plans to quadruple its production of support weapons and ammunition.

Johansson welcomes EU initiatives to strengthen Europe's sovereign defence capability and reduce dependence on the US. The CEO noted that the majority of EU defence spending is currently outsourced, with 78% allocated to countries outside the EU. He advocates reversing this situation in order to strengthen the sovereignty of European defence.

He expects the trend towards increasing deterrence and capabilities in Europe to be sustainable, even in the event of peace in Ukraine, and stresses the need for resilient supply chains that are less dependent on China. As far as drones are concerned, Saab is working on detection and countermeasure solutions to meet this growing threat.

Finally, Johansson suggests that the defence industry should have the same opportunities to attract capital as other sectors, and that investment in defence technology by major funds and the European Investment Bank would be a strong signal for the financing of the defence industry in Europe.

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