Saab to Offer 114 Gripen E for Indian Air Force RFP

Aircraft manufacturer Saab said it will offer 114 state-of-the-art Gripen E fighters as a part of its response to the upcoming Indian Air Force (IAF) Request for Proposal (RFP).

With Gripen E, India will get next-generation combat air capability and world-class availability – ready to face any threat, any time, anywhere, from any dispersed location, the company said Aug 28.

Compared to previous versions of the Gripen, Gripen E has a significantly improved avionics system. It has the capability to carry more weapons and has and improved range performance, made possible by a more powerful engine and the ability to carry more fuel.

Gripen E is equipped with a highly integrated and sophisticated sensor suite including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Infra Red Search and Track (IRST), Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and datalink technology, which when combined, gives the pilot, and co-operating forces the exact information needed at all times.

Six nations currently operate Gripen: Brazil, Sweden, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand. Besides that, Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) in the United Kingdom uses Gripen as platform for test pilot training. Apart from India, Saab is also competing in the Philippines to fulfil their requirement for modern fighters, and have offered Gripen to Malaysia to fulfil its much delayed requirement for modern multi role combat aircraft. –saab/adj/mhi (Pix: Saab)