Saab ties up with Samtel

BANGALORE: Saab and Samtel Display Systems, today announced that they have has entered into an MoU to jointly develop, manufacture and market the RIGS Head-Up Display in India.

RIGS is a new-generation advanced lightweight Head Up Display (HUD) designed by Saab to provide helicopters with a cost-effective display solution, said a press release.

SDS and Saab would jointly market RIGS in India to potential Indian customers for the Indian commercial and military airborne market. SDS will be involved in the development of RIGS electronics and software and will also develop and manufacture parts of the RIGS HUD. Initially, the parts manufactured by SDS would be for the Indian market, with the potential of serving International market in the long run. SDS may also, at a later stage, leverage its relationship with HAL for the joint marketing activities of RIGS.

"Our current goal with reference to this MoU is to help Saab serve the Indian market in the Head-Up Displays segment. But we are hopeful that through our focus on quality along with cost effectiveness this collaboration will extend to other international markets as well over the next few years," says Puneet Kaura, executive director, SDS about the collaboration.

This is the second MoU to be signed between Saab and SDS. The first MoU identifies SDS as an offset partner for Saab for the MMRCA contract in which Saab’s fighter aircraft Gripen is one of the contenders.

"India is a very important market for us and is an important cornerstone of our overall global strategy. We are very confident about SDS’ technological and manufacturing capabilities and are happy to partner with them. This collaboration marks our next step towards consolidating our position in the Indian aerospace and defense market," said, Micael Johansson.