Saab subsidiary signs maintenance contract with HAL

Saab Grintek Defence (SGD), a subsidiary of Swedish defence major Saab and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd's (HAL) Avionics Division have signed a technology transfer contract under which HAL will provide maintenance facilities for Saab defence systems to South Africa.

As per the $8.5-million (ZAR 112 million) contract announced at Aero India 2017, Saab Grintek Defence will transfer technology for in-country maintenance of Saab's Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS) system in India.

"The export of this technology to India bodes well for future manufacturing and skills transfers, and for building an ongoing mutually beneficial partnership in line with the 'Make in India' initiative," Saab Grintek Defence president and CEO Trevor Raman said in a release.

The Transfer of Technology (ToT) programme will run for 24 months and will qualify HAL Hyderabad as a SAAB-approved IDAS repair facility, he said.

HAL will focus on maintenance and repair of IDAS equipment for Indian end-users and SAAB will continue to support HAL Hyderabad with critical spares and proprietary components for the entire service life of IDAS, Raman said.

IDAS has been selected as the electronic warfare self-protection system for the Indian Air Force and Indian Army Aviation Corp's variants of the HAL Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, the statement said.

The maintenance ToT provides for supply and commissioning of test infrastructure at HAL Hyderabad, along with documentation and training of HAL personnel in both Centurion, South Africa, and Hyderabad, it said.