Swedish SAAB Partners With Adani to Produce Hundreds of Fighter Jets for India

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Signaling its intent to the Indian government for manufacturing Gripen E fighter jet in India, Swedish defense and security firm Saab has chosen Adani Group, a new entrant in the field of defense aerospace, for collaboration to bag Indian Air Force’s $10 billion tender of single engine fighter aircraft.

“Our plans in India are to create a new defense 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,” Håkan Buskhe, President and CEO of Saab AB said on the occasion.

​Aiming to build a web of supply chain, both the companies have also planned a joint roadmap to encourage the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Our various collaborations in aerospace and defense sectors will help establish new production lines in India, generate employment and build sustainable skills,” Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group hopes.

The IAF tender is in the preliminary stage and the request for information is expected to be floated in the next few months. The procurement would be executed under the newly approved strategic partnership (SP) model that seeks to identify an Indian private firm as a strategic partner who would tie up with a shortlisted foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) produce military platforms. The main criteria for the selection of OEMs would be the compatibility of their products with the Services Staff Qualitative Requirements (SQRs), and their commitment to providing technology and other assistance to enable their Indian partners to produce in India with maximum localization.

Earlier in June this year, Lockheed Martin of the US had intended to join hand with India’s Tata Advanced System to produce the F-16 Block 70 in India. Presently there is a gap of approximately 400 fighter jet in the Indian Air Force. Some of this gap will be filled by indigenous fighter jets ‘Tejas'. The Indian Air Force intends to buy 106 Tejas fighter jets.