Gripen fighter jet.
Credit: Saab
Bengaluru: Swedish aerospace and defence firm Saab are pitching its Gripen E/F fighter jets for India’s Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme, with the promise of an indigenous production ecosystem and sustained technology upgrades.
Over the last two years, Saab has put together a blueprint – it responded to the RFI on 114 MRFA for the Indian Air Force in 2018 – for indigenous capabilities to develop the fighters, Kent-Ake Molin, Campaign Director, Saab, and head, Gripen for India programme, said.
The company is working toward a full Transfer of Technology, cost-efficient operations, and the first delivery in three years after signing the contract. Regular upgrades of the platform will be integral to the plans, Molin said.
“The requirements of the future fighter are evolving constantly. Now, air forces have to keep pace with technology streams that involve AI and quantum. The challenge will be in absorbing these technologies rapidly and being able to keep them updated, on a daily basis,” Molin told Deccan Herald.
Is Saab addressing questions on its set of Original Equipment Manufacturers and how this engagement could conflict with India’s vision of self-reliance in defence? Molin said the company understood atmanirbharta and was ready to work with Indian companies in multiple domains. “This process also involves a transfer of industrial capability,” he said.
Molin noted that Gripen E, operational in the Brazilian Air Force, has capabilities for today and preparedness for tomorrow. Saab has adopted the Brazil model in its engagement with the industry to set up local infrastructure for design and production lines. Bengaluru, with its spread of technology companies and skill base, could be critical to the firm’s localisation push.
Gripen will compete with fighters including Dassault’s Rafale, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, and Lockheed Martin’s F-21 for the MRFA contract.
The aircraft, with constant upgrades on mission software – “code in the morning, fly in the afternoon” – and a disruptive design, can fight in the most hostile environments, “today and tomorrow”, Molin said.
It is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, intuitive human-machine collaboration capabilities, and an infrared search and track system.