The reason for the misconception is that the Armed Forces believe that maintenance of engines on the other side of the Atlantic would take too long for an armed attack or heightened readiness.

- This must hold at higher readiness levels and it is a step to retain knowledge in Sweden but also get a cost-effective solution in the long term. It also means that we can build up spare parts and components in Sweden and handle this within the country, ”says Göran Mårtensson, director general at the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration, FMV to Ekot.

When Sweden bought Gripen E in 2013, the agreement included the maintenance of the engine to be performed by American General Electric in the US, but the engines for today's Gripen C / D are reviewed in Trollhättan by the company GKN, a work that worked well and made the knowledge and spare parts are available locally, writes Ekot.

This has meant that all the companies involved agree that maintenance will continue in Sweden. The Gripen fighter aircraft is being developed and built by Saab in Linköping.