Defense and security company Saab has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Swiss company Pilatus which includes working together to provide a PC-21 (photo) training solution for the Swedish Air Force if they decide to replace their SK 60.

On Friday 28 March, in Bern, Switzerland, Saab CEO and President Håkan Buskhe and Lennart Sindahl, Executive Vice President and Head of Aeronautics at Saab, put their signatures to a MoU with Pilatus, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer.

The MoU, signed by Pilatus’ CEO Markus Bucher and Jim Roche, Vice-President Government Aviation and Deputy CEO, places Saab and Pilatus on a footing to cooperate in the replacement of the Swedish Air Force’s current pilot trainer aircraft, the SK 60, should Sweden decide to replace the fleet.

“We are very pleased to be working closer with Pilatus and look forward to exploring other business opportunities in Switzerland. This is a result of a long dialogue that began with the selection of the Gripen E in Switzerland. It truly shows that there are extended business opportunities that can result from the Gripen decision,” said Håkan Buskhe, Saab’s CEO and President.

SK 60 is the designation given by the Swedish Air Force for the Saab 105 trainer aircraft, which Saab developed in the early 1960s for the Air Force. Currently Saab has a full turnkey contract with Swedish Defense Materiel Administration, FMV, for the Swedish Air Force’s SK 60s and the SK 60s at FMV’s test and evaluation unit.

“Saab’s SK 60 has helped train generations of Swedish Air Force pilots and we are pleased to enter into a MoU with Pilatus, to proactively explore its replacement with the PC-21, a highly capable and affordable training platform for pilots,” said Lennart Sindahl, Executive Vice President and Head of Aeronautics at Saab.