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The Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab said that it has not renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Adani Group for manufacturing brand-new Gripen E fighter jets in India.

“Our MoU with Adani Group expired in 2019 and has not been renewed. Saab is waiting for the next step in the Indian Air Force fighter acquisition process. We are looking forward to the formal process to start,” Mats Palmberg, the Chairman and Managing Director of Saab India told CNBC-TV18.

However, Palmberg said that he strongly believes “Gripen E is exactly what India needs to protect its borders”.

On August 31, 2017, Saab and Adani Group announced entering into an agreement to manufacture Gripen E fighter planes in India. The agreement said that Adani would be Saab’s partner if the Swedish company is chosen to supply the Gripen E fighter jets to India.

The Rs 60,000-70,000 crore tender to supply 114 medium multirole fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF), has multiple companies vying for the deal, including Saab and Boeing. In 2019, the Stockholm-based fighter jet manufacturer had said that it was considering manufacturing 96 of the 114 jets in a production facility likely to be set up in one of the southern cities.

Shares of Adani Enterprises ended 1.50 percent lower at Rs 3,584.90 on Wednesday.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)