Among the targets for the US NSA's interception were Saab and the Danish defense group Terma.
According to information to DR, from several independent sources with insight into the investigation of the ongoing wiretapping scandal in Denmark, the NSA has gained access to fiber optic cables and a data center on Amager south of Copenhagen.
From there, Dutch, Norwegian, French and German data traffic, Danish political institutions and Swedish defense interests have been intercepted.
Several sources point to the Swedish Gripen program as one of the goals.
Denmark procured new fighter jets
According to Danish radio sources, the American espionage took place at the same time as the Danish state procured new fighter aircraft - where Saab's Gripen aircraft was involved in the final battle.
The Danish state eventually bought 27 American F-35 fighter jets.
Denmark's radio has neither been able to prove nor deny that the wiretapping had a connection with the multi-billion deal, the same applies to the question of whether any sensitive information has been disclosed.
But according to experts that SVT and DR spoke to, it could be about financial motives.
Whistleblowers sounded the alarm
The Danish scandal began with an employee at FE discovering that the NSA was conducting illegal espionage through the Danish-American intelligence cooperation.
After several failed attempts to draw the FE's management's attention to the problem, the whistleblower alerted FE's supervisory authority TET.
The authority launched an investigation that resulted in a four-folder thick report.
The material from the whistleblower indicates, according to the supervisory authority TET's press release, that FE's management "failed to follow up or further investigate indications of espionage".
The Danish Minister of Defense, Trine Bramsen, forced five people in the FE leadership to resign.
Sophisticated software
The NSA had gained access to international fiber cables that run in and out of Denmark to Sweden, the USA, England and Germany, among others.
The cables are key in the large-scale eavesdropping that the United States and its allies are conducting.
According to Danish radio, the NSA on Danish Amager during the period 2012-2014 established a data center that uses the system XKeyscore, revealed in 2013 by Edward Snowden, a central function in the entire NSA's interception apparatus.
The program makes it possible to go through large amounts of data in fiber cables with the help of "selectors" - keywords such as names of people in a central position in interesting organizations.
According to the sources, there were selectors directly targeted at the Gripen program and other defense industrial objects.
SVT has on several occasions been in contact with Saab, who at a first meeting said that espionage was not remarkable and were then prepared to stand up for an interview.
Later, it was changed with reference to the fact that it was considered that the information could be suspected of being a disinformation campaign by a foreign power.
SVT has also been in contact with the American intelligence service NSA, which chooses not to comment on the information.
SVT Nyheter has sought Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist, who declined to comment on the information.
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According to Danish radio sources, the American espionage took place at the same time as the Danish state procured new fighter aircraft - where Saab's Gripen aircraft was involved in the final battle.
Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT