SAAB to bid for Indian Navy MRMR tender
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:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::
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Swedish defense and aerospace
company SAAB is planning to
offer its SAAB 2000 aircraft to
the Indian Navy when it issues a
Request For Proposal (RFP) for
Medium Range Maritime
Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft
in the next few months.
The Indian Navy currently
operates the Russian Tu-142
Bear and IL-38 aircraft, in
addition to Dornier aircraft. It
has also ordered eight P-8I Long
Range Maritime Reconnaissance
(LRMR) aircraft and is expected
to buy an additional four.
The aircraft is built by US
aviation company Boeing, which
is planning to pitch a medium
range'diet' P-8 for the Indian
Navy's MRMR tender.
While the SAAB 2000 is being
offered with the RBS-15 Anti
Ship Missile and a fifth
generation Selex AESA radar,
what is also interesting is that
SAAB is offering re-
manufactured aircraft, since the
company ceased production of
the aircraft in 1999.
"We will take an existing SAAB
2000. We will re-manufacture it
and build it up. So it will be
ground zero flying hours. We will
have all the warranties. We will
have 35,000 flying hours. It will
have 25 years of support," said
Tommy Hultin, SAAB's Business
Development Director for the
program.
Hultin also says the Harpoon
missile manufactured by Boeing,
which India is already planning
to acquire for the Indian Air
Force (IAF) Jaguar and the P-8I
aircraft, can also be configured
on the SAAB 2000, which he
points out, is one of the fastest
turboprop aircraft flying.