Saab’s Air Defence Partnership With Kalyani Group
India’s vision for the Defence and Aerospace industry is based on manufacturing in India so that India can reduce imports of defence equipment, become self-sufficient and export more. For Saab, the approach fits well with its intent to build partnerships across domains. For instance, Saab plans to produce air defence systems with the Kalyani Group.
A long-term relationship with a local partner helps in many ways – the local partner can help invest in facilities and equipment, provide marketing expertise, develop plans for transfer of technology, as well as provide information pertaining to local taxes, duties, supply chain etc. It also helps Saab expand its supplier base.
“The Kalyani Group is willing to make the required investments, and our views are well aligned in terms of how and what we hope to achieve,” says Bo Almqvist, Director Strategic Business for Saab Business Area Dynamics.
Currently, Saab is working with Kalyani Group on plans to execute the final assembly of firing units for the BAMSE air defence system. A number of Indian technicians are visiting Karlskoga, Sweden, to understand the system, as part of this partnership. In the meantime, Saab has placed trial orders with Kalyani Group for parts and subsystems.
Colonel Rajinder Bhatia, President and CEO of Defence and Aerospace, Kalyani Group, says that such a partnership between the two companies will be advantageous for future industrial development in India. Indian manufacturing industry is expected to grow from USD 300 billion to 1250 billion over the next ten years, and defence manufacturing is seen to be a significant part of this growth. “Strategic partnerships like the one between Kalyani Group and Saab are very well placed to harness this opportunity,” he said.
Industrial partnerships have been a big part of Saab’s development and expansion. The latest and ongoing partnership programme with Brazil is an example of how training, technology transfer, and exchange of ideas benefits both countries. Besides Brazil, Saab has industrial cooperation agreement with South Africa which has allowed it to extend its product portfolio through Saab Grintek Defence. Such partnerships also help in increasing the technological competence of one or both parties while opening the way for new products and services to be developed through mutual cooperation.