With Saab and Adani Group having decided not to go ahead with the agreement for manufacturing Gripen E fighter in India, Mats Palmberg, India Head of the Swedish aerospace and defence company, said on Thursday that it was “mutual decision”.
An agreement was signed in 2017 between Adani Group and the Swedish aerospace and defence company to make fighter jets in India. “The MoU between Saab and Adani expired in 2019 and the parties mutually agreed not to renew the same (at that point of time),” Mats Palmberg said at a press conference here. The agreement was for manufacturing 114 multi-role fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force which was expected, at that time, to be produced under a strategic partnership programme. Saab is one of the companies competing for the tender. However, after the Request for Proposal was issued, the project has not seen any forward movement.
The Indian Air Force, in this time period, has placed orders for 83 Light combat aircraft LCA Mark1A which are being produced in Bangalore by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The Saab group manufactures the Saab Gripen fighter which is believed to be like the advanced version of MiG-21 in terms of capabilities.