PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY
Swedish arms maker reveals plans for India
Post dateSeptember 30, 2022

Swedish Saab wants to increase production to meet growing demand for “anti-tank capability”

Swedish arms maker Saab will build a new facility in India to make a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon, according to a company executive, who noted that the plant would serve New Delhi’s armed forces in addition to more than a dozen other nations.

The plans were revealed on Tuesday by Saab senior vice president Gorgen Johansson, who said the company would build a new factory at an unspecified location in India to produce its Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon system, hoping to begin operations sometime in 2024.

“It is a natural step to set up a Carl-Gustaf M4 production facility in India given the long and close relationship we have with the Indian Army as one of the primary users of the system.” he told reporters in New Delhi, adding that Saab would “contribute to the Government of India’s objective of developing a world-class defense industry.”

The factory will manufacture the versatile shaft-launched weapon not only for India’s military, but for customers in 15 other countries, Johansson Addedproverb “we haven’t done this in any other country.”

The new production facility will help to satisfy the growing demand for the weapon, which in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine “more countries will seek anti-tank capabilities going forward,” according to Johansson. Ukraine received at least 100 Carl Gustav M2 rockets and 2,000 rounds of 84mm ammunition from Canada alone, while the Pentagon sent an additional 2,000 compatible grenade ammunition from its inventory.

Carl Gustaf has been in service in India since its introduction in 1976 and has undergone several upgrades over the decades. The Saab boss said the new factory will only manufacture the latest M4 variant, while previous generations will continue to be manufactured by a partner local company, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL). He offered few other details about the plans, saying the production site had not yet been selected.

The new investment was announced as New Delhi declared a target to increase arms production, with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh saying on Tuesday that the country had increased annual exports by about thirteen times over the past eight years, from 10 billion rupees ($122 million) to 130 billion ( 1.5 billion dollars). By 2025, he said, India hopes to push defense exports up to 350 billion rupees ($4.2 billion) and total output to 1.75 trillion ($21.3 billion).

Sweden resumes arms exports to Turkiye after NATO membership bid


Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin (C-R) speaks during a press conference following NATO-hosted talks with Finland and Sweden in Brussels, Belgium on June 20, 2022. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal (C-L) also attended. [Dursun Aydemir - Anadolu Agency]

September 30, 2022 

Sweden's Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) said on Friday that it had reversed a ban against exporting military equipment to Turkiye, following the Nordic country's decision to join the NATO military alliance and agreement to overcome Turkish objections, Reuters reports.

Sweden and Finland sought membership to NATO earlier this year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but faced a hurdle as its application needs the approval of all 30 current members, with Turkiye raising objections.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to block their bids over Ankara's accusations that they supported the YPG in northern Syria, which it views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is also deemed a terrorist group by the United States and European Union.

Sweden and Finland effectively banned arms exports to Turkiye in 2019 after its incursion into Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, with ISP revoking existing permits and granting no new ones since then, though no formal embargo existed.

READ: Turkiye asks next Swedish government to take counter-terrorism steps needed for NATO membership

The three countries reached a breakthrough agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid in June, where Sweden and Finland agreed on a set of steps to be taken to address Turkiye's concerns about the candidacies.

The ISP said in a statement it began giving export permits during the third quarter, but did not reveal which companies or products had been given the go-ahead, citing confidentiality.

"Taking into account the altered defence and security policy conditions, ISP has after a full review decided to grant a permit for follow-up deliveries from Swedish defence industry to Turkiye," the authority said.

Turkiye, in May this year, said it had received positive signals with regards to a lifting of the embargo.