Swedish company Saab concluded the agreement regulating the maintenance of Gripen fighters of the South African Republic Air Force.

The Defense Post reports on this.

The agreement covers component repairs and minor upgrades to the fighter systems aimed for the Gripen to continue supporting various missions.

Åsa Schöllin, Head of the company’s business division, stressed that this contract reflects South Africa’s confidence in Saab’s ability to support the operational needs of global customers.

“I am very happy and satisfied that we have now reached an agreement for a new maintenance contract,” she said.

South Africa has been operating Gripens since 2008. Worth noting is that this is Saab’s first export client for these multi-purpose light fighters.

For some time, aircraft maintenance was assigned to local companies, which caused concern for the manufacturer. However, in December 2013, the South African government had after all signed the needed contract with Saab.

The current contract covers the timespan of three years, from 2022 until 2025.

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a light single-engine multirole fighter produced by the Swedish Saab AB aerospace company. The aircraft is in service with Sweden, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, and Brazil. The latter had localized the production of the aircraft.