Indo Defence 2016: Saab outlines Indo collaboration (video)

4th November 2016 - 09:38 GMT | by Grant Turnbull in Jakarta

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Like many countries that are looking to develop an indigenous defence manufacturing capability, technology transfer and offset deals are a key priority for Indonesia when it comes to making defence deals with international partners.

One Western company that is assisting Indonesia in building this indigenous capability is Sweden's Saab, which has entered into an agreement with state-owned enterprise PT Pindad to focus on ground-based air defence (GBAD).

This agreement centres on the RBS 70 NG missile system and Giraffe 1X AESA radar, which will be integrated with the Indonesian Army's Komodo 4x4 vehicle. An example was on display at this year's Indo Defence exhibition in Jakarta.

Technology transfer is planned to be incremental, with Indonesia at first manufacturing less-advanced parts of both systems. The hope is that in the future, once Indonesia gains sufficient technical experience, they will be able to manufacture more complex parts and eventually achieve full technology transfer.

One of the first steps will be a lifetime extension programme for Indonesia's legacy RBS 70 missiles, said Rickard Svensson, Saab's business director for the Asia Pacific region.

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