Wipro to develop software for Saab's e-warfare system

LEDS provides protection to light and medium combat vehicles and main battle tanks against rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles, mortars and artillery shells.

"We will pursue opportunities for LEDS in the domestic market with Indian defence establishments and original equipment manufacturers," Wipro infrastructure engineering division president Pratik Kumar said on the margins of the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) 2011 trade fair being held in London.

DSEi is the world's largest integrated defence and security exhibition providing a single platform to showcase the latest equipment and systems.

Wipro will develop, manufacture and integrate the equipment to address the Indian market for land-based active protection systems (APS).

"The primary objective of the partnership with Saab is to serve the Indian market with state-of-the-art APS solutions. The partnership will include component sourcing within the country, technology transfer and manufacture and integration of APS," Kumar said.

The global software major hopes the strategic alliance will put India on the global map as a cost-effective and reliable defence manufacturing hub.

Both the firms also partnered in 2008 and 2010 to address the Indian survivability technology market.

"India is an important market for us and a cornerstone of our global strategy. The new collaboration marks our next step towards consolidating our position in the Indian defense market," Saab's business head for LEDS Micael Johansson said on the occasion.

The e-warfare system combines active signature management and soft-kill and hard-kill mechanisms to provide full spectrum active protection to land vehicles. The specifications include hemispherical coverage to detect incoming threats and alert the crew.