Indian Defence Production Delegation Visits Saab in Sweden as Defence Co-Manufacturing Talks Deepen

An Indian delegation led by Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar has visited Saab facilities in Sweden as India and Sweden explore deeper defence-industrial cooperation, supply-chain integration and co-manufacturing opportunities.

The delegation held discussions with Saab President and CEO Micael Johansson and visited industrial facilities belonging to Saab Dynamics and Saab Aeronautics. The visit formed part of a wider Swedish engagement involving government and industry representatives, with India encouraging greater participation by Swedish defence companies in its domestic manufacturing ecosystem.

Defence Production Secretary Leads Indian Delegation

The Department of Defence Production delegation was led by Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defence.

During the Sweden visit, the Indian side also participated in an industry interaction organised by the Swedish Security and Defence Industry Association, SOFF. The meeting brought together representatives from Swedish defence companies and members of the accompanying Indian defence-industry delegation.

According to SOFF, the discussions were intended to give Swedish companies a clearer understanding of India’s policies covering foreign investment in defence, industrial partnerships, joint ventures and the country’s defence industrial corridors. The interaction also provided a platform for identifying potential business and manufacturing partnerships between companies from the two countries.

Saab Dynamics and Aeronautics Facilities Visited

The delegation’s programme included visits to production facilities operated by Saab Dynamics and Saab Aeronautics, two of the Swedish company’s principal defence businesses.

Saab Dynamics develops weapon systems and associated defence technologies, while Saab Aeronautics is responsible for combat-aircraft programmes including the Gripen family.

The factory visits therefore exposed the Indian delegation to both land-based weapon production and advanced aerospace manufacturing. Discussions centred on industrial cooperation rather than a publicly announced procurement decision involving any particular Saab platform.

India Encourages Swedish Companies to Manufacture in India

During the interaction with Swedish defence companies, the Indian side emphasised India’s expanding defence-manufacturing ecosystem and encouraged greater participation in co-production.

The Department of Defence Production has been promoting India not only as a buyer of military equipment but as a manufacturing base capable of supporting Indian requirements and global supply chains.

Joint Secretary Meera Mohanty presented an overview of India’s defence industrial ecosystem during the Swedish industry interaction. The emphasis was on co-manufacturing, industrial partnerships and closer engagement between Swedish companies and Indian manufacturers.

This approach aligns with India’s wider effort to increase domestic defence production while drawing foreign technology and investment into local supply chains.

Saab Already Has a Manufacturing Footprint in India

Saab’s relationship with Indian defence manufacturing is already moving beyond exports.

The company has established Saab FFVO India Pvt Ltd to manufacture the Carl-Gustaf M4 shoulder-launched weapon system at Jhajjar in Haryana. Saab began construction of the facility in March 2024 after receiving approval for 100 per cent foreign direct investment.

The plant represents Saab’s first Carl-Gustaf manufacturing facility outside Sweden. The company has said it intends to work with Indian suppliers and manufacture systems in accordance with Make in India requirements.

Advanced technologies planned for the facility include sighting systems and carbon-fibre winding processes used in Carl-Gustaf production.

Carl-Gustaf Provides a Model for Deeper Industrial Cooperation

The Carl-Gustaf programme demonstrates how India-Sweden defence ties have already evolved from equipment supply towards local manufacturing.

The weapon has been in Indian service since the 1970s, but Saab’s Haryana investment adds domestic production and Indian supplier participation to that longstanding relationship.

This model is relevant to the latest discussions because the Indian government is seeking broader forms of cooperation involving manufacturing, technology absorption, local sourcing and integration into global production networks.

The Sweden visit therefore builds on an industrial relationship that already has an established manufacturing component in India.

Gripen Remains Relevant to Saab’s India Strategy

The delegation’s visit to Saab Aeronautics naturally brings the company’s Gripen E fighter into the broader industrial context, although neither side has officially described the visit as a Gripen procurement event.

Saab continues to promote Gripen E in India and states that its proposal goes considerably beyond final assembly. The company says its Indian industrial concept would include capabilities for design, development, production, upgrades and long-term maintenance.

Saab has also said that such an aerospace ecosystem could contribute technological and industrial capabilities relevant to indigenous programmes including the LCA Mk2 and Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

These remain Saab’s proposals rather than approved Indian procurement arrangements, but they illustrate the scale of industrial participation the Swedish company is offering.

Brazil Shows Saab’s Technology-Transfer Model in Practice

Saab’s Gripen programme with Brazil provides an existing example of its international industrial partnership model.

Brazilian industry participates in the development and production of Gripen E and Gripen F aircraft, while hundreds of Brazilian engineers and technicians have received training through the programme.

In March 2026, Saab, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force unveiled the first Gripen E produced in Brazil. Additional aircraft under the Brazilian programme are being manufactured using a combination of domestic and international production capabilities.

The Brazilian example is relevant to India because it demonstrates the type of technology-transfer and industrial-participation model Saab has implemented with another major aerospace partner.

India-Sweden Defence Cooperation Has an Established Framework

Defence-industrial engagement between India and Sweden predates the latest visit.

A bilateral framework has developed through defence working groups, industry interactions and agreements covering classified information and industrial cooperation. India and Sweden have also encouraged links between their respective defence-industry associations.

In 2021, the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and SOFF signed an agreement intended to promote bilateral defence-industrial relations.

India’s Embassy in Sweden has identified defence and security as an important area of bilateral cooperation, with particular scope for supply-chain links, joint research, domestic manufacturing and industrial partnerships.

Supply-Chain Integration Is Becoming a Major Objective

The current discussions indicate that India is increasingly looking beyond individual foreign weapon purchases towards participation in international defence supply chains.

Indian companies already manufacture components and subsystems for major global aerospace companies. Expanding this role into higher-value engineering, systems integration and final production could strengthen domestic capability while creating export opportunities.

For Swedish companies, India offers a large defence market alongside an increasingly mature engineering and manufacturing base.

Co-manufacturing therefore provides a potential middle ground between straightforward imports and complete indigenous development, allowing international technology to combine with Indian production capability.

Saab Visit Reflects a Wider Shift in India’s Defence Partnerships

The significance of the Indian delegation’s visit lies less in any single platform and more in the industrial model being discussed.

India is increasingly seeking partnerships that create manufacturing capacity, integrate Indian companies into global supply chains and establish long-term technology and engineering capabilities inside the country.

Saab already has a tangible manufacturing commitment in India through the Carl-Gustaf facility, while its aeronautics business continues to propose deeper industrial participation around advanced aerospace technologies.

The latest engagement in Sweden strengthens the institutional and industrial links needed to expand that relationship. India-Sweden defence cooperation is consequently moving towards a model in which co-manufacturing, local supply chains and advanced engineering play a progressively larger role alongside traditional defence trade.

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References

Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence — Official information on Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem.
https://www.ddpmod.gov.in/

Swedish Security and Defence Industry Association — Visit by Indian Defence Delegation, October 1, 2026.
https://soff.se/event/besok-av-indisk-forsvarsdelegation/

Embassy of India, Stockholm — India-Sweden Relations.
https://www.indembassysweden.gov.in/page/india-sweden-relations/

Saab — Company Profile: Saab in India.
https://www.saab.com/markets/india/company-profile

Saab — Saab Starts Construction of New Carl-Gustaf Factory in India, March 4, 2024.
https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press-releases/2024/saab-starts-construction-of-new-carl-gustaf-factory-in-india

Saab — Air: Saab Solutions for India.
https://www.saab.com/markets/india/solutions-for-india/air

Saab — First Gripen E Fighter Produced in Brazil Is Unveiled, March 25, 2026.
https://www.saab.com/newsroom/press-releases/2026/first-gripen-e-fighter-produced-in-brazil-is-unveiled

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