Saab Rugged Vehicle Electronics System for Denel

Defence and security company Saab has signed a contract with Denel Land Systems regarding the delivery of a Rugged Vehicle Electronics System.

The contract is the result of close collaboration between Saab Grintek Defence and Saab's Business Area Support and Services, stemming from a contract signed between Denel Land Systems in South Africa and the Malaysian Army concerning their AV-8 programme - the latest generation of eight-wheel drive armoured vehicles.

This order confirms Saab's position as a leading supplier of Vetronics to the international market.

The contract includes delivery of 254 rugged battle panels and 127 rugged keyboards, plus 122 Fire Control Computers (FCC). Although the products have been developed at Saab in Sweden, the production of the FCCs will take place at EDS facility in Centurion, Pretoria, where compliance to the South African NIP/DIP requirements will be upheld.

"Professional design and development according to the customer's requirements resulted in high quality products that satisfy the customer's operational requirements and surpassing their expectations. This has also strengthened Saab's position as a strategic partner to Denel for future business co-operation in other areas of technology," says Hannes du Preez, Sales Manager for the contract with Denel at Saab Grintek Defence.

"We are also regarding this as an important technology transfer programme," added SGD CEO Magnus Lewis-Olsson. "We will be able to support the product locally for the next 30 years, and be able to provide integration support and engineering support locally. This will result in quick repair and turnaround times by reducing shipment time - as we are closer to the consumer."

The first deliveries will be made in October and will continue until September 2017.