The Swedish defense firm Saab counts the Asia-Pacific region as one of its most important markets with a wide range of equipment delivered and in service with militaries in the region.
“Interest in Gripen remains strong from customers from around the world and Saab has noted that it is in discussions with Colombia, the Philippines, and Thailand among others,” says Anna Bergenlid, Head of Communications for Saab in Asia. “The war in Ukraine has shown very clearly that the design decisions and advanced capabilities built into the Gripen fighter family are essential to survive and win in modern air warfare,” Bergenlid adds.
What are the latest developments at Saab regarding its aerospace business?
Saab continues to be busy on all fronts. The Gripen E/F program is pushing ahead with deliveries to Sweden and Brazil well underway. The Gripen E has received its military type certificate from both countries and the process of service introduction with each air force continues. There are now more than 30 aircraft in production and assembly, including the first two-seat Gripen F aircraft for Brazil. Last year Brazil announced that it would increase its initial planned procurement from 36 aircraft to 40 in what is known as the ‘Batch 1’ contract.
A multi-year program of capability enhancements for the existing Gripen C fleet is underway in Sweden to ensure that these aircraft remain at the highest level of capability for the coming decade, and beyond. This will see hardware and software changes to add new weapons and sensor capabilities to Gripen, along with enhancements to the electronic warfare, communications, engine, and other critical aircraft systems. This program will benefit all Gripen users and keep the aircraft at the cutting edge of capabilities for many years to come.
Interest in Gripen remains strong from customers from around the world and Saab has noted that it is in discussions with Colombia, the Philippines, and Thailand among others.
On the T-7A Red Hawk trainer for the United States Air Force, Saab is working with Boeing in the EMD phase, while also under contract from Boeing to start production of the aft sections for the next phase of the program. These aft sections with installed subsystems are being made at Saab’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. The T-7A Red Hawk is an all-new, advanced pilot training system designed for the U.S. Air Force to train its next generation of combat pilots for the coming decades. The is also strong interest in T-7 from various potential international customers.
How is Saab preparing to address the RTAF need for additional aircraft?
Thailand is a well-established Gripen customer and has implemented a level of fighter capability that is respected across the region and beyond. The RTAF’s Gripens operate as part of a larger Air Defence Solution acquired by Thailand from Sweden that includes Erieye AEW&C platforms and a sovereign national datalink system. Thailand is looking at a number of ways to expand and enhance this system to add more capability for the future. Thailand is planning to acquire further fighter capabilities and Saab has the widest range of options that meet the detailed and specific needs of the Royal Thai Air Force.
The RTAF is preparing a new White Paper that will set out its procurement plans and modernization strategies for the next 10 years in a number of areas, including new fighters. This will update a previous White Paper issued in 2020 and is expected to appear before the end of February. We look forward with interest to its conclusions.
Please provide an update on the GlobalEye – has there been interest from the region?
GlobalEye is progressing well with the first three systems now in service with the UAE Armed Forces The fourth and fifth aircraft for the UAE carried out their first flights in April and November 2023, respectively. Both are now undergoing flight trials program in Sweden as part of the pre-delivery process. Last month the aircraft which will become Sweden’s first GlobalEye arrived at Saab’s Linköping site to start the 18-month process of becoming a GlobalEye. The second aircraft for Sweden’s GlobalEye program is currently in Canada for fitting out before flying to Sweden.
Market interest is strong given GlobalEye’s unique ability to provide long-range detection and identification of objects simultaneously in the air, at sea, and over land. Regional tensions around the world and the increasing variety of threats combined with aging E-3 AWACS inventories mean GlobalEye has much to offer. There are various campaigns underway in Europe including France, while Saab is promoting GlobalEye to the Republic of Korea to meet its recently announced RFP for additional air surveillance.
How is demand for Saab’s 340-based AEW and what upgrades are on offer for existing customers?
The Saab Erieye remains an extremely effective system and provides an important level of capability for its operators. On 25 July 2023, Saab announced a contract from Poland for the supply of two Saab 340 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) systems with its Erieye radar, along with ground equipment plus in-country logistics and support services. When delivered, these two systems will act as national assets for Poland’s Armed Forces to reinforce territorial integrity and national security.
Modernization and upgrade of Thailand’s Erieye systems is a high priority for the RTAF, and we continue to discuss a number of ways forward to deliver this together.
What are some of the latest technologies being proposed for the Gripen to address evolving aerial and ground threats?
The war in Ukraine has shown very clearly that the design decisions and advanced capabilities built into the Gripen fighter family are essential to survive and win in modern air warfare. Gripen’s ability to disperse and sustain operations from austere locations with minimal support is of paramount importance when air bases are so easy to attack and disable. Gripen’s prioritization of advanced electronic warfare capabilities has proved to be essential to counter rapidly changing anti-access/area denial threats. Gripen’s ability to carry such a wide range of weapons and to quickly integrate new weapons when they are required is a critical ability that many fighters lack completely. These capabilities are all fundamental aspects of Gripen’s basic design and without them, modern air combat becomes far more dangerous.
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