Thales Norway to co-operate in Gripen development

Thales Norway to co-operate in Gripen development

Thales Norway A/S and Saab of Sweden have signed a contract concerning the
development of communications systems for the Gripen fighter. This order for the
Norwegian company is the first to be awarded under the provisions of the Letter
of Agreement signed by the Norwegian Department of Defence and Gripen
International on 26 April this year.

“The communications systems that will be developed by Thales are a central and
vital part of Gripen´s systems. This deal means that Saab will get access to the
latest Norwegian state-of-the-art technology and in return, Norway and Norwegian
companies will be able to obtain first-hand knowledge about the Gripen new
generation fighter and its systems. This is good for Norway, Gripen and Sweden”
says Hans Rosén, Marketing Director, Norway at Gripen International.

Under the terms of the contract Thales Norway will for the next two years
develop Gripen systems capability in the areas of satellite communications and
broadband technology. These are functions which are used for transferring data
between airborne aircraft and ground-based command and control systems.

“Thales Norway is very positive about this co-operation agreement with Saab,
which enables us to build on our extensive capability in defence communication
systems. This will also bring new capabilities to a modern fighter aircraft like
the Gripen and create a good platform for further industrial co-operation
between the companies”, says Glenn Pedersen, managing director at Thales Norway.

This is yet another example of how Saab's extensive international industrial
co-operation programmes, in partnership with some of the world's leading
aerospace companies, is securing the long-term future of the Gripen fighter.
This includes the announcement made at the Paris Air Show of the Gripen
Demonstrator programme (Gripen Demo), regarding the development of a new Gripen
test flying platform - Gripen Demo - and Gripen Avionics Rig, which will keep
Gripen at the leading edge well beyond 2040.

The Letter of Agreement signed by the Norwegian authorities and Saab subsidiary
Gripen International earlier this year, will enable Norwegian companies to be
closely involved in advanced development work in a range of high technology
areas. These include composites, communication systems, studies and integration
work for Norwegian weapon systems, ammunition, logistics and data systems. The
total value of this activity is some NOK 150 million ($US 25 million) for a
period of 


two years, with the option to further extend the agreement. At this time,
Norwegian companies will take part in increased industrial co-operation directly
connected to the future development of the Gripen.

About Gripen:
Gripen is designed to meet the demands of current and future threats, while at
the same time meeting strict requirements for flexibility, flight safety,
reliability, training efficiency and low operating costs. Gripen is in service
with the Swedish, Hungarian and Czech Republic Air Forces and has also been
ordered by the South African Air Force. The UK Empire Test Pilots´ School (ETPS)
is operating Gripen as its advanced fast jet platform for test pilots worldwide.

For further information, please contact:
Peter Liander, Communications Director Norway, Gripen International
Tel +46 13 18 50 15, +46 734 185 015 
peter.liander@gripen.com 
Hans Rosén, Marketing Director Norway, Gripen International
Tel +46 13 18 44 08, +46 734 184 408 
www.saabgroup.com
www.gripen.com

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



Photographs and images:
A selection of the very latest photographs and images of Gripen are available to
download from our website www.gripen.com. Go to ‘Gripen Image Base'.