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SAAB eyes to sell Gripen-E for India's next Aircraft Carrier after LCA Navy was rejected
Monday, February 06, 2017
By: TNN
Swedish defence firm SAAB, which has already fighting Lockheed Martin to bag the orders from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for a single-engine fighter aircraft, has also expressed interest to supply the Indian Navy with an aircraft capable of taking off from carriers. The navy is looking for an aircraft after the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) naval variant failed to meet its expectations.
"The RFI was issued sometime last week and we have said we will participate. We have the naval version of Gripen, which is best in its class," SAAB India Technologies Chairman and Managing Director Jan Widerstrom told reporters on Monday.
He said that the procurement will take more time as the government is yet to correspond after SAAB responded to the RFI. The IAF's single-engine fighter deal, on the other hand will happen more quickly as the RFI was issued in November last.
Jan said that the competition is only between the F-16—produced by Lockheed—and the Gripen E. "Gripen is the best in the class. Experts from America say it is in the 6th-7th generation category. The first production unit will take off soon and we are confident that it will be the best plane," he said.
Incidentally, previous versions of both the F-16 and the Gripen had lost out to Dassault's Rafale in the MMRCA deal, which the government has now modified to procure six aircraft as against the initial proposal to pick up 126.
Reiterating that the firm is confident about the single-engine deal, Jan said: "It is not only about thrust and speed, which are, of course, important. But the next generation Gripen is smart. A lot of effort has gone into equipping it with the state-of-the-art data power. It has the best computing compared with any other aircraft out there," he said.
He added that Gripen is also the most affordable aircraft, which will also have a high rate of availability—crucial for any force. "Given its size, India needs numbers and if the number of aircraft (of any type) available in the skies is key. Some other big birds (aircraft) have an availability rate of 40%-60%, which means India needs to buy double the number. But Gripen has an availability rate of 90%," he said.
Further, taking a dig at Lockheed, which has proposed to shift one of its production lines to India, Jan said: "We are not looking at shifting an old production line that will allow India to build 100 old aircraft. We are looking at forging a partnership that will see the country build capabilities to build a next generation aircraft and serve its armed forces for the next 100 years."
Jan said that a lot of work for the Gripen E is already taking place at its centre in Hyderabad. Besides, he pointed to other projects like the Electronic Warfare system it provides for Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, among others to say that the firm already has a good partnership with India.
Monday, February 06, 2017
By: TNN
Swedish defence firm SAAB, which has already fighting Lockheed Martin to bag the orders from the Indian Air Force (IAF) for a single-engine fighter aircraft, has also expressed interest to supply the Indian Navy with an aircraft capable of taking off from carriers. The navy is looking for an aircraft after the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) naval variant failed to meet its expectations.
"The RFI was issued sometime last week and we have said we will participate. We have the naval version of Gripen, which is best in its class," SAAB India Technologies Chairman and Managing Director Jan Widerstrom told reporters on Monday.
He said that the procurement will take more time as the government is yet to correspond after SAAB responded to the RFI. The IAF's single-engine fighter deal, on the other hand will happen more quickly as the RFI was issued in November last.
Jan said that the competition is only between the F-16—produced by Lockheed—and the Gripen E. "Gripen is the best in the class. Experts from America say it is in the 6th-7th generation category. The first production unit will take off soon and we are confident that it will be the best plane," he said.
Incidentally, previous versions of both the F-16 and the Gripen had lost out to Dassault's Rafale in the MMRCA deal, which the government has now modified to procure six aircraft as against the initial proposal to pick up 126.
Reiterating that the firm is confident about the single-engine deal, Jan said: "It is not only about thrust and speed, which are, of course, important. But the next generation Gripen is smart. A lot of effort has gone into equipping it with the state-of-the-art data power. It has the best computing compared with any other aircraft out there," he said.
He added that Gripen is also the most affordable aircraft, which will also have a high rate of availability—crucial for any force. "Given its size, India needs numbers and if the number of aircraft (of any type) available in the skies is key. Some other big birds (aircraft) have an availability rate of 40%-60%, which means India needs to buy double the number. But Gripen has an availability rate of 90%," he said.
Further, taking a dig at Lockheed, which has proposed to shift one of its production lines to India, Jan said: "We are not looking at shifting an old production line that will allow India to build 100 old aircraft. We are looking at forging a partnership that will see the country build capabilities to build a next generation aircraft and serve its armed forces for the next 100 years."
Jan said that a lot of work for the Gripen E is already taking place at its centre in Hyderabad. Besides, he pointed to other projects like the Electronic Warfare system it provides for Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, among others to say that the firm already has a good partnership with India.
