1945

The origins of Saab Training Systems can be traced back to a department within Saab, based in Linköping, Sweden, that developed an air target hit detector.

The detector was mounted inside a target sleeve that was towed behind an aircraft. Gunners on the ground fired anti-aircraft artillery at the target sleeve. The anti-aircraft rounds travelled at supersonic speeds, causing a bow wave bang. If the round passed close to the target, the target detected the bang and recorded it as a hit. A cable connected the target detector to a mechanical hit counter in the cockpit of the plane towing the target. The pilot could read the counter and report hits to the ground crew by radio. From this small beginning grew one of the world's leading weapon simulation companies.