NEW DELHI: In a bid to compete for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) search for a single engine fighter jet, Swedish defence major SAAB Friday announced a collaboration with India’s Adani Group to manufacture their Gripen fighter jets in India.
“Our plan together is to create a defence ecosystem in India... Building new fighters is very similar to doing high technology projects in the energy sector,” said Hakan Bushke, president and CEO of SAAB.
Announcing the colloboration, Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group, said the partnership would be in “aerospace and defence including the Gripen”.
The announcement comes at a time when the IAF is about to initiate the process in the next few months for the selection of a single engine fighter aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Russian MiG-21s and MiG-27s under the recently promulgated Strategic Partnership (SP) model of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
The IAF has plans to get some 100-plus fighter aircraft, estimated to be worth more than Rs 60,000 crore.
“In continuation of our vision of nation building, we are keen to play an instrumental role in helping transform India into a destination for world class high-tech defence manufacturing,” said Gautam Adani.
“We are proud of our enduring relationship with SAAB and look forward to partnering in major projects such as Gripen. Our various collaborations in aerospace and defence sectors will help establish new production lines in India, generate employment and build sustainable skills,” he added.
“Our plans in India are to create a new defence eco-system that would involve many partners, vendors and suppliers. To achieve this, we need a strong Indian partner who can help create the framework for the infrastructure and eco-system to come into place,” said Hakan Buskhe. Recently, US aircraft major Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited signed a deal to produce F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft in India.