BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land and Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for 'Land Systems Hägglunds AB' and BAE Systems Bofors AB, and has no products of its own.
AB Hägglund & Söner was founded in 1899 by Johan Hägglund in Gullänget, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The company was divided in 1988, one part being Hägglunds Vehicle AB, the military vehicles business. In October 1997 the British company Alvis plc acquired Hägglunds Vehicle AB to form Alvis Hägglunds AB. Alvis expanded its military vehicle business in 1998 with the purchase of GKN's armoured vehicle division in 1998 and Vickers Defence in 2002 to form Alvis Vickers. In September 2004 BAE Systems acquired Alvis Vickers and merged it with its RO Defence ordnance division to form BAE Systems Land Systems. Hägglunds was renamed Land Systems Hägglunds.
In June 2005 BAE Systems acquired United Defense and reorganised its land systems businesses into BAE Systems Land and Armaments, with Land Systems and Land Systems Hägglunds as subsidiaries of this U.S. based operating group.
BAE Systems Bofors AB, located in Karlskoga, Sweden, is a Swedish subsidiary of BAE Systems Land and Armaments.
Its corporate heritage goes back to Bofors, which was founded in 1646 and entered the Defence business in 1883. In 1999 Saab purchased the Celsius Group, the parent group of Bofors. In September 2000 United Defense Industries (UDI) purchased Bofors Weapon Systems from Saab (the tube artillery interests), while Saab retained the missile interests. In 2005 BAE Systems purchased UDI and re-organised all its land systems businesses into BAE Systems Land and Armaments. As part of acquisition Bofors Defence was renamed BAE Systems Bofors.