The Avanti Group the equities research house based in Tokyo, providing professional trading and investment research solutions to institutional and private investors across the globe have recently drawn their investor’s attention to recent developments within the aerospace and defense industry.

The 22 airframe contract for Saab’s Gripen fighter jets which was awarded by Switzerland in 2012 was opposed by 53.4% of the country’s voters in the recently conducted national referendum according to a statement released by the Swiss government in Bern yesterday. Polling conducted ahead of the vote had indicated that some 51% of voters were opposed to the transaction with only 44% in favor of proceeding with the purchase.

The Swedish Saab AB had competed in and won a three way contest designed to select a replacement for Switzerland’s small and aging fleet of Northrop Grumman Corp built F-5 Tiger jets in November of 2011, beating other combat aircraft on offer from the French Dassault Aviation SA, Italy’s Finmeccanica SpA and the aviation consortium of BAE Systems Plc, Airbus Group NV and FNC’s highly respected Eurofighter aircraft.

“The contract to replace Switzerland’s air force jets was going to be a tough sell to the Swiss people from the start for any company and even though the Saab Gripen is a superb aircraft the case of sticker shock for a country whose air force only flies in business hours was too high to bear and was dropped by the electorate in their referendum,” said Murakami Hiroto, Senior Vice President of Global Investment for The Avanti Group.

2013 saw the Swedish aircraft manufacturer edge out the U.S’s Boeing Co in a deal to develop new fighter jets for the Brazilian air force, a deal worth some $4.5 billion including parts and maintenance extending through 2023. Saab’s Gripen fighter jet is facing stiff competition from rival manufacturer’s offerings against rival offerings including Lockheed Martin Corp, the world’s biggest defense contractor’s F-35 JSF aircraft making European and international orders much harder to come by in significant quantities.

“For Saab, the Swiss order was not a particularly large one, but its significance lay in the esteem that would have accompanied it, with the world seeing a very rich country buying this expensive jet as their first choice. In day to day terms the Brazilian contract will provide the Swedish company with a larger and more dependable revenue stream for nearly a decade and hopefully open up new markets for them in South America,” concluded Murakami Hiroto, Senior Vice President of the Global Investment department at The Avanti Group.

The Avanti Group is an equity research house providing research and analysis outsourcing solutions for institutional financial traders worldwide, founded in early 2003.