Home Economy Saab gets tax deal to build, test undersea vehicles in Bristol

Saab gets tax deal to build, test undersea vehicles in Bristol

By

Christopher Allen

-

12/16/2024

R.I. COMMERCE CORP.’S board of directors on Monday approved $1 million in tax credits and jobs incentives to subsidize the establishment of Saab Inc.’s Autonomous Undersea division at Bristol’s Unity Park. The board also approved $2.68 million in tax incentives for the owners of Unity Park to redevelop a building in the complex for Saab's use.

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. board approved $3.7 million in combined tax credits and jobs incentives Monday to subsidize the establishment of Saab Inc.’s autonomous undersea division, which will sign a 10-year lease with Bristol’s Unity Park for a manufacturing and testing facility. The Swedish aerospace and defense company has 13 employees in its

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PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. board approved $3.7 million in combined tax credits and jobs incentives Monday to subsidize the establishment of Saab Inc.’s autonomous undersea division, which will sign a 10-year lease with Bristol’s Unity Park for a manufacturing and testing facility. The Swedish aerospace and defense company has 13 employees in its 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cranston but plans to add 45 employees over five years in Bristol. It will receive $1 million in tax credits under the Rhode Island Qualified Jobs Incentive Act. For its part, Unity Park owners will undertake a $9.8 million project to redevelop a building at the park into 45,692 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse and office space for use by Saab. Unity Park will receive $2.68 million under the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act. Unity Park is a sprawling former mill complex that has been converted for various commercial uses. Joseph M. Brito Jr., Unity Park founder, said the property – once home to the National Rubber Co. – was "a complete disaster" when he took over in 2019. “Some of the buildings had the roofs collapsed," he said. "The seagulls were sleeping on the floor and no paying any rent.” Since then, it has been transformed into a hub with 23 businesses, including Flux Marine Ltd., Sealegs (U.S.) Corp., and Endurance Clean Energy LLC. “Almost every one of them [are] startups,” he said. “Individuals that wanted an opportunity to do something different.” Established in 2022, Saab’s autonomous undersea division provides aerospace technology for U.S. and offshore government agencies and private interests in the defense and security sectors, operating out of a factory on Kenney Drive in Cranston. It secured a 10-year contract with the U.S. Navy with a potential value of up to $173.2 million to provide up to 1,000 MK39 Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Targets annually unmanned underwater vehicles used to train sonar operators by mimicking the acoustics and signals of submarines. Erik Smith, CEO and president of Saab's U.S. operations said "by increasing domestic production and [research and development] capacity of our world-class unmanned underwater systems portfolio, Saab is positioning its partnership with the State of Rhode Island at the leading edge of next-generation small and medium-sized UUV/AUV systems.” Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.