Heroux-Devtek Inc., a leading international manufacturer of aerospace products, today announced that it has signed a contract with Swedish defence and security company Saab AB for the production of complete landing gear systems for the Gripen E fighter aircraft.

Under the terms of the agreement, Heroux-Devtek will manufacture, assemble and deliver complete landing gear systems for the Gripen E. Operations will be mainly carried out from the Corporation's facilities located in the United Kingdom. The design and development of the landing gear is currently being finalized by Heroux-Devtek's U.K.-based engineering team.

Based on current program status, this new contract covers a total of 96 aircraft, representing firm orders for the Gripen E for the Swedish and Brazilian air forces. It also includes the provision of spare parts. Deliveries are expected to begin in calendar 2017. The aircraft is also being considered by several other countries and the contract provides an option for Saab to award the manufacturing of additional complete landing gear systems to Heroux-Devtek.

"Heroux-Devtek is proud to further enhance its longstanding relationship with Saab. Our U.K. operations have designed and manufactured landing gear systems for previous variants of the Gripen aircraft and this new contract acknowledges their expertise on an important program. This life-cycle contract will generate revenues over an extended period of time and increase our proportion of sales derived from products on which we hold intellectual property or design authority rights. It will also solidify our geographical revenue diversification as well as our balance between commercial and defence programs. We are pleased to continue providing a wide range of complete, high-quality landing gear systems to leading OEMs of the global aerospace industry," said Martin Brassard, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Heroux-Devtek.

Saab's Gripen is a multi-role combat aircraft capable of undertaking the full range of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, including specialist roles such as intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and electronic warfare. Gripen is equipped with the most modern sensors and mission systems, including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and infra-red search and track (IRST) system. It can be armed with any air-launched weapon that a customer requires, and integration of new capabilities is speedy and affordable. Gripen is easily deployable, with a very low maintenance and support footprint coupled with high reliability.