Saab: Gripen still in race for Indian contract

From DefenseNews

Saab: Gripen Still in Race for Indian Contract

By GERARD O'DWYER

Published: 8 Jul 2009 18:21

HELSINKI - Saab has rejected a July 5 report by the Jerusalem Post that the Sweden-based company has been eliminated from India's multibillion-dollar combat jet competition.

The newspaper reported that the United States refused to allow Israel to supply an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for Saab's Gripen fighter jet, prompting the elimination.

"Our AESA focus is on our partnership with Selex Galileo, which we reached in March," a Saab spokesman said. "Together, we will jointly develop a new radar based on Selex's AESA Vixen and PS-05/A technologies. Saab is not involved in other AESA programs."

Selex Galileo, part of Italy's Finmeccanica group, is a defense electronics firm with operations in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States.

The newspaper report claimed that, under pressure from the Pentagon, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was forced to back out of a partnership with Saab due to U.S. concerns that American technologies, used by Israel, could be integrated into the Gripen-NG fighter offered to India.

"There is no AESA relationship between Saab and IAI, and there has not been one regarding any tender involving India," the spokesman added.

The Saab joint venture with Selex Galileo aims to offer a Gripen NG equipped with an AESA radar to India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) procurement program, as well as to a similar contest in Brazil. The partnership brings together Saab Microwave Systems, Saab Aerosystems and Selex Galileo.

The Gripen NG is a considerably improved version of the in-service Gripen C/D multirole fighter. It has been updated to operate in diverse combat situations, including net-centric warfare environments.

Selex Galileo's Vixen 500E is a compact AESA radar for use on small, lightweight combat aircraft. The radar, which consists of some 500 transmit-receive modules, currently does not have any customers. A variant with 750 modules is under development. The range of the Vixen 500E is given as 35 nautical miles.