Saab 2011 Annual Report Download - page 35

SAAB ANNUAL REPORT 2011 31
Development centre opened in India
In cooperation with Mahindra Satyam, we
opened the Saab India Technology Centre
(SITC) in Hyderabad during the year. SITC will
be part of our global offering, while supporting
operational excellence within the Group and
facilitating an expansion in the Indian market. Its
work will focus on aeronautics, defence systems
and urban development, including civil security.
The most important development areas are
software, electrotechnology and mechanical
engineering. The establishment of SITC is also a
strategic measure to develop synergies between
Mahindra Satyam’s unique expertise in enterprise
solutions, technical services, aerospace systems
and integration and our expertise in aeronau-
tics, network-centric warfare and specialised
IT systems. In late 2011, Saab placed its first
development order with the new centre.
Success for WISE in Australia
With WISE (Widely Integrated Systems Environ-
ment), our innovative software suite, users can
quickly and easily integrate command and control
systems from different domains and countries,
thereby improving situational awareness and
increasing efficiency.
Unlike conventional system integration, WISE
communicates with linked systems through their
own communication standards and protocols,
eliminating the need to modify the integrated
systems.
The software has been demonstrated for, among
others, the Australian Department of Defence. We
showed how advanced technology can produce
major improvements in important defence areas.
Our successful demonstration met the customer’s
stringent technical requirements and strict budget
and time parameters.
The UN: A future market
The United Nations (UN) has quickly become
an important and growing market for Saab. The
journey that culminated in the UN becoming a
market began in earnest in 2009. An initial order
was received in May 2010. The same year a
more extensive contract was signed to supply
maintenance and technical services for the
UN’s missions in East Africa. Three of Saab’s six
business areas are participating and initially have
focused on logistics and training for peacekeep-
ing missions – in particular, solutions for energy,
water and waste management.
One of the biggest reasons why Saab’s business
relationship with the UN has grown is our local
presence. Saab already has an office in Nairobi,
Kenya and is now looking at opportunities to
increase its presence Entebbe, Uganda as well.
At the same time, the UN’s operations in New
York are monitored from Saab’s North American
office.
Sweden
Saab is the first company in the world to supply
an airport with a Remote Tower for air traffic
management, which reduces costs and allows
several different airports to be managed from
a single centre. The first installations at the
airports in Sundsvall and Örnsköldsvik represent
a paradigm shift. The system is expected to be
placed in operation in 2012, when air traffic at
both will be is managed from a Remote Tower in
Sundsvall.
The UK: A priority market
In London, Saab has established both a new
head office for its UK operations and the Saab
Design Centre, where around ten engineers from
Sweden and the UK will initially work on the de-
velopment of an aircraft carrier-based version of
Gripen, Sea Gripen. This is a new area for Saab,
where the aim is to utilise British experience.
South Africa
Saab has a multi-faceted commit-
ment to South Africa. At the same
time that we supply the country with
cutting-edge defence and security
technologies, we are investing heavily
in local industry to drive growth. With
over 1,000 employees on site, we can
combine a local presence with our
international organisation to promote
prosperity and improve the nation’s
defence. Together with the South Afri-
can Army and Bakenberg Traditional
Council, Saab has donated MZAR 2 to
finance the iLab classroom for schools
in Limpopo province to give students
access to computer training.