Saab plans plant in northern Michigan to build missile systems and close-combat weapons

GRAYLING, MI — Saab, the Swedish defense and security company (and former automaker), is considering Grayling as the site for a new U.S. munitions plant.

The company announced plans in March to build a new advanced manufacturing facility and weapons systems innovation center in the United States.

“We are moving quickly to select a location, with the final decision to be announced soon,” a company spokesperson said in an email.

The company has already posted manufacturing manager positions for at least two possible locations, Grayling and Odon, Indiana, which the spokesperson said is “consistent with past practices to meet our commitment to open the “factory for production in 2026”.

Locating at Grayling would place the plant in the orbit of Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, the largest National Guard training center in the United States.

Its location in Odon, about 25 miles southwest of Bloomington, would place it near the Naval Surface Warfare Center's crane division.

The facility would “support the engineering and production of missile weapon systems for the U.S. military, such as components for the Small Diameter Land Bomb System and Close Combat Weapons,” the company said in a press release earlier this year.

Grayling Mayor Heather Forbes said she met with Saab representatives when they visited the town last month, but did not know the details of the visit.

Being chosen for the munitions factory would be “fantastic,” she said. “I think we are always open to any opportunity to create jobs in the region.”

The Grayling job posting posted by Saab said the director would lead a team of 55 to 70 people “as well as the processes necessary to support manufacturing operations.”

“Additionally, as Saab looks to expand its production operations in Michigan, you will be responsible for building additional capacity in the years to come.”

Securing an investment from Saab would be validation of a strategy pursued by Camp Grayling leaders over the past several years “to leverage Michigan's industrial, academic and technological base to maximize what Camp Grayling and the National All- Domain Warfighting Center contributes to our national defense strategy. “, as camp commander Col. Scott Meyers told MLive in 2022.

The National All-Domain Warfighting Center is essentially a rebranding of four Lower Peninsula installations – Camp Grayling, Combat Readiness Training Center Alpena, Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township and Battle Creek Air National Guard Base – to better market. what they can offer the US Department of Defense and private industry.

Since its unveiling in 2018, “my phone has been ringing off the hook with private industry trying to enter this space. And the good thing is we have a lot of availability and a lot of fields for people to come here and play,” Meyers told DBusiness magazine in 2022.

The use of private companies was part of the reason behind the failure of an attempt to dramatically expand the camp.

The Guard asked the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 2022 to allow it to lease an additional 162,000 acres of state land, which would have more than doubled its size.

The state Department of Natural Resources denied the request last year but offered to release up to 52,000 acres for limited, short-term use.

The Michigan National Guard public affairs office did not immediately respond to messages left seeking comment Wednesday.