South African defence company Saab Grintek Defence, with its Swedish parent group, Saab, is actively seeking a partner to help finish the development of its cutting edge Land Electronic Defence System (Leds) 150 self-defence system for armoured vehicles.
Leds 150 is an active defence system. That is, it detects incoming anti armour missiles and rockets and launches a small interceptor missile that destroys the incoming weapons.
"It's a South African development," Saab Grintek Defence CEO Magnus Lewis-Olsson highlighted to Engineering News Online at the Land Forces Africa 2013 conference in Pretoria on Tuesday. "We've invested many years and a lot of money in this. Saab Sweden has also invested a lot in it and now we need a codeveloper to finish it."
"It is one of the bigger engineering programmes in defence in South Africa," he affirmed. Development of the system started in 2006.
"We are talking to possible codevelopers; some countries in Europe," he reported. "Hopefully, we will find a partner who will also be the first customer."
At the moment, a Leds-type system is not a high priority for the South African Army. Indeed, most of Saab Grintek Defence's markets are outside South Africa. They are located in Asia, the Middle East, South America, with some in Europe. For its electronic warfare and avionics products, 90% to 95% of revenues come from exports. For command-and-control, it is 50% export and 50% local. "Last year, we won the title of Best Export Company in South Africa from the Department of Trade and Industry," noted Lewis-Olsson.
Saab Grintek Defence is a South African company with a lot of local intellectual property, which happens to be owned by an overseas group. About 99% of Saab Grintek Defence's employees are South Africans.