Buskhe, Saab’s CEO. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarsson Neideman
Saab’s CEO Håkan buskhe was usual optimistic after the company on Wednesday presented its financial statements. This time it was found, inter alia, that the defense now has orders landscape worth 114 billion.
It is almost twice as much as a year ago, partly due to Brazil placed an order for 36 Gripen aircraft to be delivered between 2019 and 2024. in addition, the Swedish state has placed orders for new submarines.
According Buskhe leads the bulging order book in itself to make it easier to attract new customers.
– it makes the environment has got a different view of Saab and our product portfolio. They see that there is a development in the company and we will be there even 30 years, says Buskhe.
The latter is extremely important in an industry where customers are buying sophisticated and expensive systems that they should use for many years.
From that perspective is perhaps odd that Saab chief now still describes the market as challenging. The increased uncertainty in the world has also led many countries to increase investments in defense.
– It is true but it is also a challenge to public finances are under severe pressure in many places. Though overall has yet possible number of transactions has increased significantly and it will start to come even if we have long sales cycles.
For Saab circuits much now about the Gripen fighter who in three years to be delivered in a new, larger version . It has been ordered by the air forces in Sweden and Brazil, but Saab is hoping to sell even more.
– Interest in Gripen is greater than ever before. We have a handful of countries that are interested in the Gripen E and F (one- and two-seater version). We are in a situation where we are the only in the Western world who develop a new fighter, says Buskhe.
A little strange comment might given that Lockheed Martin is to deliver the first F-35, a new fighter aircraft purchased by the US, UK, Norway, Italy and several other countries. There is also a plane that suffered huge delays, technical problems and huge cost overruns.
– F-35 began development in 1998 and is not really new. Above all, there has been great development in time with sensors (radar) and the range for missiles. It makes stealth aircraft like the F-35 will not have the importance it previously thought, says Buskhe.
As he sees it made F-35 as a stealthflypgplan to be very difficult to detect. But to get the ability you have to both pay dearly and sacrifice performance.
Since technological developments now being to make it as easy to detect an F-35 as a more traditional fighter loses stealth plane their advantage but retains the disadvantages.
One of the countries hope to sell Saab Gripen for India. It has been going on for a long time, and Saab has stressed that they can agree to India’s claim that the plane will be manufactured in the country.
The question of a sale to India has received additional weight right now because Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) is in India February 13 to 14, where he and Buskhe and Swedish industrial delegation will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In June, Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist (S) in India in the same case.
Besides the Gripen, Saab now also to develop a new training aircraft for the US Air Force. There are a hundred people who work with the planet that has not yet been presented.
The project is expensive and Saab during periods had up to 500 people worked on the project which is run together with the US aerospace and defense corporation Boeing.
– the work is extremely good and had a great effect on our income statement during 2015 and will be there this year as well, says Håkan Buskhe.
How it works is unclear, however. Several competing groups are on the way with different solutions and it will take probably until the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018 before the US Air Force decides which plan they choose.
The winner will in any case to get a real boost . In a first round, it is likely to deliver about 350 planes. By extension, it may be about a thousand planes even if America’s alliance partner decides to go the same way.
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