Military and Commercial Technology: Saab offered Bulgaria it can deliver the first 4 aircraft 21 month after signing of contract

Saturday, 24 November 2018

Saab offered Bulgaria it can deliver the first 4 aircraft 21 month after signing of contract

Saab

Translated by google

Saab not only can deliver 4 Gripen aircraft for 24 months, but they are ready for the Air Polis mission

Dimitar STAVREV

On November 22, 2018, Saab organized a seminar on "The Experience of the Czech Air Force with Gripen" in Sofia.

At the beginning of the event, Daniel Boestad, vice president of Central and Eastern Europe at Saab Aeronautics, said: "Sweden and Saab have offered Bulgaria a full-fledged bundle of fighter capabilities in the new combat aircraft competition.

- The proposed Gripen C / D airplanes are fully compatible with NATO requirements, proven by their operations in the Czech and Hungarian Air Force. These two countries have already participated in Air Polis missions over Baltic and Iceland, as well as in large-scale Alliance exercises such as Tiger Meet. The Swedish Air Forces participate in the Red Flag teachings in the United States, as well as in the NATO operation over Libya;
- The price that Sweden and Saab have indicated in the offer is below the maximum amount voted by the National Assembly of Bulgaria of BGN 1.5 billion excluding VAT;
- We declare again, as we did during the presentation of the offer on October 2, 2018, that we can deliver the first 4 aircraft to the 21st month of signing the contract, at the 24th month and the pilots will be preparing to go on duty on the Air Polis mission in NATO's NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System for missile defense and anti-air defense;
- In the Graf Ignatievo airbase we will build two new maintenance hangars that will be ready to meet the first 4 aircrafts;
- The first 4 Gripen C / D fighters will be delivered 30 months after signing the contract;
- In Bulgaria, a regional Gripen C / D maintenance center will be built in partnership with the local Bulgarian industry, which will be operational 24 months after signing the contract. This will generate a transfer of high technology. This is not about painting aircraft but about working in the field of software and electronics. This will generate hundreds of jobs;

Bulgaria will receive a strategic partnership with a European Union country. Sweden is a country with large-scale investments in Bulgaria, with nearly 10,000 Bulgarians working in Swedish companies in the country. If the contract is signed, further investments will be made in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Fighter Gripen C / D. They will be from the latest version MS20. Saab's concept is to continuously refresh planes and their systems in order to be as close as possible to the desired capabilities instead of mid-life modernization, as is the case with its rivals. Saab guarantees full maintenance of the Gripen C / D for at least 30 years, at least until 2050.

The new features of the MS20 include, among other things, the integration of ultra-modern "air-to-air" landing gear (BVRAAM) Meteor, which gives the pilots a huge advantage. The rocket is a joint product of 6 European countries - Great Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy and Spain. Gripen was chosen as the platform to be tested and became the first platform to integrate the rocket. Meteor is now on board the Swedish Air Force Gripen C / D and is integrated into the EF2000 Typhoon and Rafale fighter jets. The range is over 100 kilometers. The so-called no escape zone is 3-4 times greater than that of the current generation of BVRAAM missiles.

The other major feature of the MS20 is the PS-05 / A Mk 4 radar. It comes with all-new architecture and hardware ready to mount an active electronically scan array (AESA). The radar offers enhanced resolution, increased detection range, low radar targeting capability, passive mode, capability of detecting heavier helicopters, intensive air handling, enhanced interference protection, and REB.

The target of detecting a fighter type target compared to the previous generation PS-05 / A Mk 3 of the MS19 variant is 150% larger and the radar of the targets detected by 4 m2 (4th generation fighter) has reached 0.1 m2 (air-to-air missile).

Mats Torbjorsson said: "Bulgaria is the most versatile version of Gripen C / D. With the PS-05 / A Mk 4 and BVRAAM Meteor, you'll have the most advanced fighters in the Balkans at the time of their entry. "

Source: www.pan.bg