NATO Allies to Buy Up to 10 Saab GlobalEye Aircraft

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced today that a group of allies will jointly acquire up to 10 Saab GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. The planes will replace aging E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft currently operated by the alliance.

Background on the Procurement Decision Rutte made the announcement at a NATO defence industry forum in Ankara. He said the decision followed the collapse of an earlier plan to buy six Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the procurement represents a moment of pride for Sweden and strengthens NATO capabilities.

The alliance had abandoned the E-7 purchase after the Trump administration indicated it would cancel the program. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later reversed that position following pushback from lawmakers.

The selection of the GlobalEye platform comes five months after allies walked away from the E-7 plan due to lost strategic and financial foundations. Saab CEO Micael Johansson told Breaking Defense in November that NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe had reviewed the GlobalEye and concluded it would fill a capability gap.

Johansson also said Saab is investing to increase annual GlobalEye production at its Gothenburg facility, with potential support from French aviation maintenance provider Sabena Technics. The announcement follows an April report by French business outlet La Lettre that the selection had already been decided.

Canada opened talks with Saab in May about a possible GlobalEye purchase. Paris finalized a contract in December to buy two GlobalEye aircraft valued at 12.3 billion Swedish kronor, or about $1.3 billion, with an option for two more.