Saab, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force have completed certification flight tests for in-flight refuelling between the Gripen E fighter and KC-390 Millennium tanker, marking a key step toward operational approval by Swedish and Brazilian authorities.
Germany has ordered 20 new Eurofighter aircraft from Airbus to strengthen its Air Force capabilities. The fighters will feature upgraded radar and electronic warfare systems and will be delivered between 2031 and 2034 as part of Europe’s joint defence programme. The new aircraft will serve as a technological bridge to the Future Combat Air System, which is expected to enter service from 2040.
Sweden’s Saab has partnered with General Atomics to build a new Airborne Early Warning drone based on Saab’s AEW solutions, integrated on the General Atomics MQ-9B UCAV, intended to operate from naval warships in a manned-unmanned teaming configuration.
Although no order has been placed yet, France has decided to purchase two Saab GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft with an option for two additional aircraft, while Saab has ordered two Bombardier 6500 aircraft platforms for the GlobalEye.
Sweden’s Saab announced the selection of its Gripen E/F fighters by the Royal Thai Air Force, which already operates the older Gripen C/D variants, beating out the U.S. Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 aircraft.
Chinese drone manufacturer DJI is facing trouble doing business in the U.S with all kinds of legal hurdles and has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Pentagon, while Raytheon has been fined almost $1 billion and Sweden’s Saab has been subpoenaed for its sale of Gripen fighters to Brazil.
Saab will begin production of the Carl-Gustaf M4 from its site in Jhajjar in Haryana next year, with the first-ever 100 percent ownership of a venture by a foreign manufacturer in India. The production is intended to largely service the Indian Army-requirements with additional potential for exports.
Saurabh Joshi analyses the significance of the agreement to produce GE F414 fighter aircraft engines in India and its far-reaching consequences for India’s military aviation industry, indigenous fighter capability and defence ties with the U.S.
Indian Army orders all personnel to delete their Facebook accounts, Boeing completes delivery of the last five of 22 Apache attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force, Saab begins production of the Gripen in Brazil and the Indian Navy completes Operation Samudra Setu
The F-15EX is neither a ‘navy fighter’ nor a renamed F-16 and the IAF is curious about it. That’s why the Rafale might finally have a formidable challenger, if India can get past the fact that it’s American.
The IAF’s new contest for fighter aircraft is expected to get underway over the next few months. But there remain a number of significant outstanding problems ahead, that could delay or derail the process.
Part III of this analysis examines the implications of the single most interesting data point to emerge from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This date has never been mentioned in earlier media reports, and what is almost startlingly significant is not only what transpired on this date, but the fact of the date, itself.
Part II of this analysis examines how the defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) interpreted an inflated cost analysis of the Eurofighter bid and undervalued the cost of the Rafale bid, five times.
Part I of this three-part analysis is a contextual reading of the February 2019 CAG report and outlines how the IAF’s MMRCA contest was fixed to get the Rafale back into the contest after it was rejected, three times, and how the threats to a Rafale win were removed.
Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.
