Saab and Smiths Signs Contract for Avionics Equipment for Boeing 787


LINKOPING, Sweden, Oct. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Saab has received an order from Smiths Aerospace, Wolverhampton, UK, for High Lift Actuation System equipment for the Boeing 787 commercial aircraft. The order value is initially estimated at 8 MUSD, but over life time the contract could be worth in the area of 50 MUSD, depending on the total volume of B787 aircraft sales.

"This contract on B787 is for us a break through on yet another platform confirming that we are a strong player in safety critical avionics niches like High-Lift Systems, a position that we intend to strengthen even further in the years to come", says Bjorn Erman, President of Saab Avitronics. The contract comprises development, production and support of an Electric Motor Controller Unit and an Electric Motor Unit providing an electrical backup for actuation of the High-Lift Actuation System for both the leading edge slats and the trailing edge flaps. The development and production will be carried out at Saab Avitronics office in Jonkoping, Sweden, and the first production delivery will take place 2007.

Almost three hundred B787 aircraft have already been ordered to date by twenty three airlines. Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the prime contractor for the B787, foresees a market potential over time of around three thousand B787 aircraft. In addition there will be aftermarket sales.

Earlier this week Saab signed a contract with The Boeing Company concerning different Doors for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. That order value is initially estimated at $100 million. Revenues over the lifetime of the agreement for that contract are expected to reach a multi-million dollar level.

Saab Avitronics -- a merger between SaabTech of Sweden and Avitronics of South Africa -- is a leading supplier of Avionics and Electronic Warfare Systems on the international market. Our Avionics range includes airborne mission and utility systems, reconnaissance systems and flight control equipment.

Saab is one of the world's leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defense, aviation and space. The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capabilities in systems integration.

For further information please contact: Ronny Nyqvist, General Manager Utility and Mission Systems, Saab Avitronics, phone +46 73 418 82 23 Anna Bergenlid, Communications Director, Saab Avitronics, phone +46 73 437 53 06, anna.bergenlid@saabtech.se

www.saab.se

www.saabavitronics.com

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