DeWitt, N.Y. — Saab Inc., the radar and surveillance company that bought a homegrown maker of airport and military sensor systems more than a decade ago, is growing.

The Swedish-based company bought Sensis Corp. in 2011. Six years later, Saab did something unexpected for Central New York: Instead of moving a homegrown company to another state or country, the conglomerate moved its U.S. headquarters to DeWitt.

Since then, it’s added scores of workers back to the payroll and won military and airport contracts worth hundreds of millions. Just last year it expanded into the defunct film hub off Collamer Road, next door to another Saab complex.

That’s still not enough room for the company, which makes sensor and radar systems that help air traffic controllers move commercial planes around airports and help sailors surveil and respond to enemy attacks on land and at sea.

“We are running out of space,” said Sarah Schoof, vice president and general manager of surveillance systems for Saab Inc. “We have expanded our radar test facility to put more products through the test, so we have a bit of a bottleneck.”

Now Saab is buying a former youth sports center off Interstate 481, just across the street from the former film studio. The space would be used for Saab electronics testing, office space, and warehouse space, according to plans submitted to the town of DeWitt.

This will become the fifth Saab building in the company’s expanding Central New York footprint.

Saab’s U.S. headquarters in DeWitt directs about 1,200 workers in 10 locations across the nation. Its customers include the Pentagon, defense contractors, the Federal Aviation Administration and regional airlines.

Here in DeWitt, Saab workers work on products that go into airports all over the world. It’s a soup-to-nuts operation, Schoof said. Central New Yorkers design and develop software and hardware for surveillance systems. They manufacture, assemble and test products here.

That includes developing radar that tracks aircraft and other vehicles to helping air-traffic controllers and airlines direct traffic on the airport surface.

Syracuse-area workers also manufacture surveillance systems and other technologies for Saab’s defense customers.

Many of the 600 working at Saab in the Syracuse area focus mainly on surveillance systems and airports, Schoof said. But there also are support roles for other locations and Saab headquarters, which are here.

This summer, Saab won a new contract from the FAA to expand its runway surveillance system, now at airports in Nashville and Long Beach among others, into 26 more airports nationwide.

At Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Saab’s local office developed a new generation of radar currently used for testing. In fact, you can see it as you approach the airport, Schoof said. Just past the Million Air luxury hangar and lounge, there’s a Saab building and logo along with a spinning antenna, or radar.

That is what’s called a surface movement radar. It monitors how airplanes move around the ground near airports, making sure, for example, there is adequate spacing between planes, she said.

“Almost everything we do here in Syracuse and almost all the products that come out of here are to make people and society safer,” Schoof said. “It’s either early warning devices or surface safety. We are heavily involved with the Department of Defense and FAA on that side, insuring it’s safe to fly.”

Saab’s DeWitt workers are part of a global team of 24,500 employees in 30 countries. The Central New Yorkers are also part of a company that’s growing worldwide as militaries increasingly use more drones as weapons and as more countries, especially in Europe, are looking to bolster their own defense systems.

In other words, Saab is riding high. Saab AB’s stock price doubled year-over-year, the company said in a quarterly report in July. Net profits at the time, reported at $160 million, beat earlier forecasts by 18%.

The company reports its global sales but doesn’t break them down to specific locations. Still, it does tout $500 million in annual sales for U.S.-produced surveillance products on its website.

And much of that work is done by Central New Yorkers.

“This is a rapidly growing business,” Schoof told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. She took over the Syracuse surveillance teams about a year ago. “It was incredibly appealing to me to run a business and shape the strategy of where we are going.”

With the expansion, Saab expects to create at least 50 more jobs locally in the next year, Schoof said. That may increase as Saab continues to win more contracts, she said.

“Saab is a company that’s not afraid to invest and expand its local capability,” Schoof said. “That means trying to see around the corner on what’s coming.”

From Sensis to Saab

Saab near Syracuse traces its root back to Sensis Corp., an East Syracuse company founded in 1985 by Jud Gostin, a former General Electric executive, along with several radar design engineers.

Sensis grew its defense and its air traffic management products after it developed and sold tracking technology to help prevent collisions on airport runways and taxiways.

In 2008 the financial crisis hit, and Sensis got walloped. The company laid off dozens of workers after employing more than 700 people.

Then, in 2011, Swedish-based Saab AB bought Sensis for $155 million. Gostin later said he had no choice: He needed to sell or declare bankruptcy.

Six years later, Saab Inc. moved its North American headquarters to 5717 Enterprise Parkway in DeWitt from Ashburn, Virginia. At the time, the Syracuse-area operation had shrunk to about 450 workers.

With the relocated headquarters in DeWitt, Saab promised to add another 260 jobs in engineers, surveillance and air traffic management as more work started pouring in.

To date, the company has received $997,161 in tax credits and $5 million in state grants, according to New York officials.

Airport business

This summer, Saab began expanding its footprint at commercial airports throughout the country, Schoof said.

Saab’s Surface Safety Initiative is already in operation at several airports including Nashville, San Antonio, Long Beach, and Hollywood Burbank. Going forward, it will be at 26 more, Schoof said. That doesn’t include Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport, she said.

The new system is now in place in San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, a general aviation airport that supports training, business aviation and private flights. Saab’s system helps track aircraft and gives air traffic controllers the ability to direct traffic in all weather conditions. This helps it avoid situations where an aircraft enters a controlled area, such as a runway or taxiway, at the wrong time, potentially leading to a collision.

That airport is the first general aviation airport to launch this product, called Saab’s Aerobahn Runway and Surface Safety Service, Schoof said.

Saab’s software gives “the air traffic controllers a better visual than if they were to look out the window,” she said.

Schoof declined to say whether Saab’s air traffic system has been involved in any near misses on airport runways, or whether the expansion will address any of those specific concerns.

Saab and Syracuse’s tech hub

About a third of Saab’s workers are engineers, she said. The rest have varied jobs. As of Oct. 2, there are 37 jobs open at Saab here, ranging from finance to manufacturing to customer service and for engineers.

The town of DeWitt has approved plans for Saab to convert the former Sports Center 481 on Collamer Road into a production and test facility. Schoof said they are reconfiguring space and haven’t decided what specifically will occur there.

The sale doesn’t appear to have closed yet. Sports & Fitness LLC is listed as the owner in Onondaga County property tax records.

The 75,000-square-foot complex offered field rentals for baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and football. It shut down in June 2023 and has been empty since.

Looking ahead, Schoof said it’s likely Saab will compete with Micron Technology for engineers and workers. But she also said Micron’s addition to the region should improve recruiting for many technology companies, including Saab.

“Syracuse is a little tech hub,” Schoof said. “Saab is a company that’s not afraid to invest and expand its local capability. That means trying to see around the corner on what’s coming next.”