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NEW DELHI: Swedish defence company Saab on Tuesday announced its plan to set up a manufacturing facility in India for the Carl-Gustaf M4 shoulder-fired weapon system under the Union government’s Make in India initiative to bolster indigenous defence manufacturing, a company official said.
Production at the new facility is expected to begin in 2024, even though the firm is yet to reveal where it will come up. A new company, Saab FFV India, will make the latest rocket launchers locally for the Indian armed forces along with components for users of the weapon system around the world, the company said.
The Carl-Gustaf weapon system has been in service with the Indian Army since 1976, and its earlier M2 and M3 variants have been produced under licence in India by now-corporatised Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
It is a natural step to set up a production facility for Carl-Gustaf M4 in India given Saab’s long and close association with the Indian Army as one of the foremost users of the system, said Gorgen Johansson, head of Saab’s dynamics-business.
“We are glad to be able to contribute to the government’s goals of developing a world class defence industry and proud to offer the Indian armed forces our Carl-Gustaf M4 made in India,” he added.
It will be the firm’s first manufacturing facility for the Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon system outside Sweden. Saab has offered the Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon system to India and is in talks with the army to take the proposal forward.
Saab is looking at the 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) route for setting up the new venture, but if that does not work out it will pursue the 74% FDI option with an Indian partner. India allows 100% FDI in defence only on a case-by-case basis.
The government has taken several steps in recent years for promoting self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector, including increasing FDI from 49% to 74%, notifying three lists of 310 weapons and systems that cannot be imported, and creating a separate budget for buying locally-made military hardware.
“The Carl-Gustaf is a proven weapon system which the army has exploited for decades. The setting up of a local manufacturing facility for the M4 variant by Saab is in line with the Make in India initiative,” said military affairs expert Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd). “We need more original equipment manufacturers to set up manufacturing facilities in India. It will provide a boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) campaign.”
The M4 weapon system is capable of firing a variety of ammunition — including anti-armour and illumination rounds — with the maximum range being 1,500 metre.
Saab will partner with Indian suppliers and the systems manufactured in the facility will fully meet the requirements of the Make in India initiative, company officials said. Saab FFV India will deploy complex technologies, including the latest sighting technology and advanced manufacturing techniques, for the Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon, they added.
Saab said it will continue its partnership with Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) (two of the seven firms carved out of the erstwhile OFB) to manufacture the earlier M3 variant of the Carl-Gustaf weapon and ammunition.
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