Saab Opens Auburn Hills Office, Anchoring Its Michigan Defense Mission
Saab, Inc. celebrated the official opening of its Auburn Hills, Michigan office on Friday, June 12, marking a major milestone in the company's expanding footprint in Michigan and its commitment to strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base.
Employees, partners and local leaders gathered at the facility for a morning of remarks, networking and a ribbon-cutting ceremony that underscored a simple message: Saab’s presence in Michigan is only just beginning.
The Auburn Hills office is the engineering and program management hub supporting Saab's state-of-the-art munitions facility opening in Grayling, Michigan in late 2026. Together, the two sites anchor the company's mission of keeping people and society safe while modernizing domestic production of close combat and precision fire weapons systems for America's armed forces.
Located in the heart of Michigan's automotive and advanced manufacturing corridor, the Auburn Hills office serves as a key interface point with customers, partners and the U.S. Department of War. It is also being developed as an advanced weapons research and development center of excellence, drawing on the Detroit area's deep defense engineering knowledge base to build a pipeline of talent and innovation.
“Establishing our engineering and research and development center in Auburn Hills provides Saab unparalleled access to tremendous engineering, education, and production expertise in the surrounding area,” said Dave Pantano, Sr. Director and Grayling Site Lead at Saab, Inc. “The talent here in Michigan is second to none, and this office gives our teams a home to do work that matters, for our nation’s warfighters and for this community."
Saab was joined by State Senator Michael Webber, who offered remarks celebrating the investment and the high-skill jobs it brings to the region before joining Pantano to cut the ribbon.
The new Auburn Hills building is one piece of a more than $200 million investment in Michigan that is expected to create over 100 full-time jobs at capacity, spanning production, assembly, engineering and management roles. More than 40 people have already been hired across the Auburn Hills and Grayling locations, many of them Michiganders building careers close to home.
To the north, Saab’s Grayling munitions facility continues to take shape. The company broke ground on April 24, 2025, on a 388-acre site just 3.5 miles from Camp Grayling, home to the Michigan National Guard. The facility, moving steadily forward toward opening in Q4 2026, will initially produce shoulder-fired munitions and precision fire weapon systems, with available capacity to expand to further support the U.S. national security needs.
Michigan’s enduring legacy as the “Arsenal of Democracy” continues to inspire the innovation, talent, and collaboration required to strengthen America’s defense industrial base and safeguard our national security. Saab is honored to contribute to that legacy in Northern Michigan.