The memorandum of understanding with
Saab is refocusing resources in a determined push to sell more big-ticket defense systems, including fighter and surveillance aircraft, to Asian militaries. Saab's CEO Håkan Buskhe said the company regards all countries in the Southeast Asian sphere as potential customers.
Buskhe has identified the
,
and
as other potential buyers for the next-generation Gripen figher aircraft.
Aiding Saab is the Swedish government’s revitalized policy of connecting interstate trade and defense agreements with defense exports. The agreement with
, which includes technology transfers and joint research and development, will serve as a model to support and elevate the competitiveness of Swedish defense equipment in Asian markets.
"Asia is becoming an increasingly more important marketplace for
’s defense companies and exports. Our cooperation agreement with
is a step forward to deepen defense cooperation between the two countries,"
Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said.
The defense deepening agreement with
takes place against a regional backdrop where Saab has opened a new office in the
. The timing of the initiative is significant, as Saab intensifies efforts to sell the JAS-39 Gripen to the Philippine Air Force.
The opening of Saab’s office in the
was preceded by a high-level Swedish trade delegation to
headed by
and Innovation Minister Mikael Damberg.
Saab is no stranger to Asian markets. The company supplied 12 Gripen C/D fighters to
in 2008. Saab is hoping to secure a new order over the next 12 months that the company hopes could conclude with a deal to deliver additional aircraft of the Gripen-E type to Thailand.
The Gripen C/D delivery, which included a Saab 340 transport aircraft equipped with the Erieye airborne early warning radar system, was completed in 2013.
