Swedish government OKs purchase of 60 Saab Gripen jets

The Swedish government has given its armed forces the go-ahead to order 60 next-generation fighter jets from defence firm Saab, the defence ministry said.
The Swedish parliament last year agreed that the armed forces buy between 40 and 60 of the new JAS 39 E jets.

"It's a historic decision that will secure Swedish fighter capacity for a long time ahead," Defence Minister Karin Enstrom said in a statement.
Switzerland, with which Sweden is sharing some of the development costs for the new jet, plans to place an order but hasn't made a firm decision yet.

"There is in the government's decision a possibility to cancel (the order) if Switzerland or another country doesn't order," defence ministry spokesman Henrik Hedberg said.
The first planes are due to be delivered in 2018, he said.

Saab Wins RBS15 Mk3 Order

Defense and security company Saab has received an order from its German partner DBD for the Surface-to-Surface Missile RBS15 Mk3.

The order value is SEK 615 million. Deliveries will take place during the period 2014 to 2016.

“This is a historically large order and one of importance for us in our long-term cooperation with DBD. It also creates new opportunities to further develop the system in close cooperation with them.  RBS15 Mk3 is one of the most competitive products in this segment available on the market today, and we continue to extend our market share,” said Tomas Samuelsson, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Dynamics.

The RBS15 Mk3, jointly produced and marketed by Saab and DBD, is a heavy weight Surface-to-Surface Missile system with a range of more than 200 km and the added capability to combat land targets. The system has previously been sold to Germany, Poland and Sweden.

Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defense to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers’ changing needs.