Bengaluru: Swedish defence major SAAB said on Monday that its advanced fighter Gripen C and D will be participating at the upcoming Aero India 2017. SAAB is also pitching Gripen-E as the suitable option for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) recent RFI for a single-engine fighter.
Addressing the media here, SAAB India Technologies Chairman and Managing Director Jan Widerstrom said the competition is only between the Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and Gripen E.
“Gripen-E is the best in its class and experts have already rated it in the 6th-7th generation category. We are confident that it will be the best plane,” he said.
Terming Gripen-E as the most affordable aircraft, he said India needs fighters in large numbers. “Gripen has an availability rate of 90 per cent,” he said.
Launching a ‘surgical strike’ on competitor Lockheed Martin, which has offered India to completely shift a F-16 production line, Jan said, SAAB is not looking at relocating an ‘old’ production line that might build 100 ‘old aircraft.’
“We are keen on forging a partnership that will see India build capabilities to build a next generation aircraft, which could serve for the next 100 years,” Jan said.
He claimed that Gripen-E has the best computing systems onboard compared to any other aircraft in the world. According to him, SAAB is looking for a partnership that will result in India having aerospace and defence capabilities with cutting edge technologies.
At Aero India 2017, SAAB is displaying the latest weapon systems of Gripen, EW suipes, radars, avionics and ground control systems to name a few.
He said the SAAB is also in fray to meet the demands of Indian Navy, with a suitable fighter capable of carrier operations.
“The RFI came last week and we are participating with the naval variant of Gripen,” he said.
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