Swedish defense and aerospace group Saab has reported a bigger-than-expected rise in operating earnings for the second quarter, driven by booming demand in its major markets.

The maker of the Gripen fighter jet said operating earnings rose to 2.79 billion Swedish crowns ($289 million) from 1.98 billion a year earlier, beating the 2.48 billion crown mean forecast.

Saab, which also makes military equipment, said like-for-like sales rose 29.8% year-on-year and that it remained focused on scaling up capacity to meet the surging demand.

The company is set to produce new Gripen E fighters to Ukraine and could see Brazil adding 20 more of the aircraft to its existing fleet. Saab has also inked a $4.8 billion contract with Poland for three A26-type submarines.

NATO announced plans to buy up to 10 of Saab’s GlobalEye surveillance planes, and the company is in the running to sell Canada Gripen fighters.

According to Saab CEO Micael Johansson, ‘With our broad offering and rapidly expanding production capacity, we are well positioned to meet this growing demand.’

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.