Saab drops Adani as partner for its Gripen E fighter in India

Aerospace and defence company Saab, said it has dropped its agreement with Adani Group to manufacture the Gripen E fighter in India, Business Standard reported on January 16. Mats Palmberg, CMD of Saab India told the paper they have “decided not to pursue the arrangement”.

Palmberg referred to the government allowing 74 percent FDI in the defence and aerospace sector, and noted that conditional to permission from the defence ministry Saab would now look to manufacture its fighters in a company where it owns 74 percent stake.

The agreement

Notably, the defence ministry is considering original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs) responses on the issue. After this it is likely to draw up an acceptance of necessity and then issue a request for proposal.

The agreement announced in August 2017, stated that Adani would be Saab’s partner should the Swedish company be chosen to supply the Gripen E fighter in India.

The tender

The Rs 60,000-70,000 crore tender to supply 114 medium multirole fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), has multiple companies vying for the win. This includes Saab’s Gripen E, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (US), Dassault’s Rafale (France), the Eurofighter Typhoon (Europe), Lockheed Martin’s F-21 (US), and two Russian fighters: the MiG-35 and the Sukhoi-35.

With its media briefing on the Gripen E fighter on January 16, Saab is the first foreign contender to make its move.

What’s interesting is that the emphasis on Make in India, ensures that foreign companies partner with local ones to produce maximum components within the country, besides assembling and servicing them here as well.

Aviacionline notes that Saab offers a high degree of customisation on its Gripen fighters, which means that India can easily integrate domestic requirements and specifications as per choice.

If it wins the tender, Saab would supply 96 of the 114 aircraft.