Why Gripen's are Hotter than any other Jet | Nxt-Gen Contender for the B...

Why Gripen's are Hotter than any other Jet | Nxt-Gen Contender for the Biggest Fighter Jet Deal

Gripen E - The Smart Fighter
Sweden’s Saab Technologies hopes to make India its home market as the maker of Gripen-E fighter jet eyes a $15-billion order under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to boost local manufacturing in the world’s largest importer of arms.
The Indian order would be key to that investment. “The basics of any investment is the return on it, and building an ecosystem is a very heavy investment,” said MD of Saab India.
Saab already has a footprint in India with ground combat and air defence systems. The company has a research and development facility in Hyderabad that contributes to its global products, he said.
Saab, which has tied up with the Adani Group for the latest order, was part of the earlier programme for procuring medium multi-role combat aircraft, which was scrapped by the Modi government after a 10-year bidding process. Modi opted to strike a government-to-government deal with France to acquire 36 Rafale jets in fly-away conditions from Dassault Aviation.
Saab will now compete with Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Dassault’s Rafale for the single-engine fighter jets.
The entire strategic partnership is different from the earlier process, said Widerstrom. “We would be looking for some answers as the process progresses. There is a strong need for the Indian Air Force, they need the numbers and the fighters and we can provide that.”
Saab has offered transfer of technology and ‘make in India’ to the government. The offer is lot more than moving a second-hand production line to India. Saab plan to bring state-of-the-art technology and production line along with capabilities which will eventually lead to thousands of jobs in India.