Pakistan takes deliveries of 3 SAAB-2000 Aircraft: India Must Delete Grippen Officially From MMRCA Bidding
According to publicly available import and export (EXIM) registries, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has received three Saab 2000 aircraft on 06 April 2019. These Saab 2000s had been ordered by Pakistan’s Directorate General of Defence Purchases (DGDP) in February 2018.
Skyworld Aviation, an aircraft sales and leasing broker, delivered the aircraft – i.e., J-038, J-024, and J-062 – to the DGDP in November 2018. The PAF had originally five Saab 2000s, with four in the Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) role and one for VIP flights and training.
In 2012, one of the four Erieye AEW&C was written-off, while two were seriously damaged. However, the two damaged aircraft were repaired at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and, in turn, resulted in PAC building depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities.
In 2017, the PAF reportedly ordered three additional Erieye AEW&C aircraft (Air Forces Monthly), of which the first was slated for delivery in December 2017 and the remaining two in 2018.
This now raises the PAF fleet to six. Saab has also made major radar equipment deliveries to Pakistan in 2017 and 2018. In March 2019, Sweden’s Inspectorate of Strategic Products confirmed that Saab sold an Erieye AEW&C system to Pakistan in 2018.
However, the Inspectorate had reportedly added that this Erieye order was in relation to the PAF’s original order (i.e., to replace the written-off unit), and that “no new export transactions have been approved to Pakistan since 2007.”
Its time now, India needs to be very firm. In no uncertain words Sweden must be told that its Grippen Fighter is no more eligible for our MRMCA consideration because of the simple reason that they have supplied weapons to our enemy …Pakistan. Henceforth they may keep supplying as much as they want, whatever they want, to Pakistan..However Indian defence market is hereby closed to them.
Its also time for IAF and DRDO to get cracking on the NETRA project to build 60 AEW & C or the mini AWACS. The platform chosen should be C295, which the IAF has selected to replace the Avros. This aircraft is going to be built in India and hence will be the most suitable.
Next we need to select the right platform for our AWACS and Refuellers too, as we need 5 squadrons of each to cover the entire subcontinent and the Andamans 24×7.
Thus a made in India for 120 aircrafts will be a very viable project. The same aircraft should also fulfil the need of our heavy Transport air craft in 50 tons category, of which we need around 4 to 6 Squadrons that is up to 72 such aircrafts, to fight not only a two front war but also to protect the SAARC area from outside interference.
