Everyone Wins, When We Make In India
India’s vision for the Defence and Aerospace industry is clear: Make in India is the future, so that India can reduce import of defence equipment, become more self-sufficient and export more to other nations. But what does Make in India mean?
For Saab and Sweden, partnership is not just about integrating components or transferring old assembly lines from foreign countries, and putting together kits in India. When it comes to industrial cooperation in any partner country, Saab leverages the strengths of both countries. Accordingly, Saab sees Make in India as a way to make India’s defence industry the centre of the next technology revolution in Defence.
This would mean looking at not just assembly, but at capability development at all levels, including system and sub-system research, design, & development; component and system manufacturing; quality & processes; integration; and finally, support and MRO – so India’s Armed Forces don’t have to look abroad to repair systems, and to get them back on the field and in the skies quickly.
Such capability development will ensure that in the coming decades, India is not simply producing foreign fighters and missile systems, but is designing and developing its own platforms that compete with the best in the world.
Growing in India
Saab isn’t new to India. This year, it celebrated forty years of partnership with India’s Armed Forces and Industry, through a technology partnership with the Ordnance Factory Board on the Carl Gustaf System – a partnership that is still going very strong.
Today, we work with some extremely proficient Indian companies such as Tech Mahindra, on an R&D collaboration in Hyderabad that is doing development work on the Gripen E, and on the next generation Carl Gustaf system; with Aequs, with whom we have a joint venture that manufactures aero-structure assembles in Belgaum; Mahindra Aerospace, CIM Tools and Tata Advanced Materials on commercial aero-structure components, Elcome Integrated Systems, on the National Automatic Identification System, which is protecting all 7,500 km of India’s coastline against unknown vessels; Ashok Leyland on trucks for our BAMSE SRSAM missile system, and on truck simulators for the Indian Army; Bharat Forge, who is our main partner in India for some of our key missile programs.
The Future is Collaborative
A growing partnership between Sweden and India is going to greatly benefit both countries – and help us jointly develop the Aerospace & Defence systems that will set the global standard in the decades to come.
Saab’s Make in India vision – for systems such as Gripen aircraft, Saab’s AESA fighter radar and RBS 70 NG VSHORAD & BAMSE SRSAM missile systems – focuses on capability development from day one. It involves transfer of critical latest-generation technology to Indian industry. It involves working closely with Indian partner companies and suppliers at all levels, to design and develop the most advanced systems and sub-systems in India. It involves introducing the world’s most stringent yet proficient processes and quality systems that will enable India to design, develop, produce and support future defence platforms – that are then exported to the rest of the world.
Saab wants to do all this in partnership with Indian industry. That’s why it is the best partner to collaborate with for Make in India.