The Gripen industrial co-operation obligation in Hungary has now been completed.
8/15/2008 | At its meeting held on March 27th 2008 the Hungarian Offset Committee, headed by the Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport, approved the final offset achievements submitted by the Saab/Gripen team. The remaining 2% of the offset obligation that was approved comprised the balance of the investment element of the offset contract. The total value of the Gripen offset delivered is 7419 million SEK (789 MEUR).
Photographer: Janne Gustavsson
“The Hungarian government is highly satisfied with Gripen International's commitment in fulfilling the Gripen offset obligation. They have delivered according to the contract and ahead of time. We will continue discussions between ourselves and Gripen International on future collaboration for the mutual benefit of Hungary and Sweden, taking advantage of the momentum of the offset programme” says Dr.Sándor Szabó, Director General of Investment and Defence Coordination ,Hungarian Ministry of National Development and Economy (legal successor of the Ministry of Economy and Transport).
“We have delivered our total Gripen offset obligation ahead of time to the Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport. We are extremely pleased with our result in Hungary and we look forward to our continued relationship with the Hungarian government” says Kaj Rosander, Programme Director, Gripen International.
Hungarian background
Ever since the early 1990s, when Saab AB (and later Gripen International) began promoting Gripen to the Government of Hungary, offset and industrial co-operation have been important items on the agenda. When the first contract between Hungary (MoD) and Sweden (FMV) was signed in 2001, covering the lease of 14 Gripen aircraft, an associated Offset Agreement was concluded between Gripen International and the Government of Hungary, under which Gripen International assumed a commitment to undertake certain activities to offset the aircraft contract. Through the offset program, Gripen International is dedicated to stimulating employment and economic growth, generating investments, export growth and building sustainable business in Hungary.
Gripen International is a subsidiary of Saab AB and acts as a prime contracting organization, responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter worldwide. Gripen International combines the strength of its international industrial partners, which are among the world's most experienced and respected manufacturers of aerospace and defence equipment.
Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers´ changing needs.
Gripen is the first of the new generation, true multi-role combat aircraft to enter service. Using the latest available technology it is capable of performing an extensive range of air-to-air and air-to-surface operational missions and employing the latest weapons. Gripen is designed to meet the demands of current and future threats, while at the same time meeting strict requirements for flight safety, reliability, training efficiency and low operating costs. Gripen is in service with the Swedish, Hungarian and Czech Republic Air Forces and has also been ordered by the South African and Royal Thai Air Force. The UK Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) is operating Gripen as its advanced fast jet platform for test pilots worldwide.
Photographs and illustrations
A selection of the very latest illustrations and photographs of Gripen are available to download from our website www.gripen.com. Go to ‘Gripen Image Base’, Gripen images.
Front page photo: Gábor Zord
For further information, please contact
Anne Lewis-Olsson, Communications Director Hungary, Gripen International
Tel: +46 13 18 1355
Mobile: +46 734 181355
Email: anne.olsson@gripen.com
Website: http://www.gripen.com/
Bernadette Nagy, MMD Corporate, Public affairs & Public Relations Consultants
Tel: +36 1 266 78 33
Email: bernadett.nagy@mmdcee.com