Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to develop an avionics system for the Swedish Armed Forces' Gripen aircraft. The order value amounts to MSEK 450, divided over 2 years.

The order means that work will begin on a new avionics system, including new computers and displays, which will enter into service 10 years from now.

"Gripen is under continuous development. Computers with the best performance possible today will be viewed as inadequate for the tasks facing Gripen in ten years, when the aircraft must remain modern for a further twenty years. Few high-tech products have a service life as long as Gripen," says Lennart Sindahl, Vice President at Saab and head of the Aeronautics business area.

The new avionics system will enhance Gripen's capacity to handle large quantities of complex information with different security classification levels. A new avionics system also makes it possible in the future to introduce new sensors that require altered system architecture.