politics
NATO Drops E-7A Plan, Begins Talks to Buy up to 10 Saab GlobalEye Aircraft
NATO will open formal talks with Saab for up to ten GlobalEye surveillance planes. The decision replaces a prior plan to acquire Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft that was dropped last November.
Jul 7, 12:23 PM·1m read3 sources
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NATO announced it will begin formal negotiations with Saab to acquire up to 10 GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft. The decision replaces an earlier plan to purchase Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft that NATO abandoned last November after determining the program had lost its strategic and financial basis.
NATO currently operates 14 Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft from Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany.
Officials had previously selected the E-7A as the replacement platform in 2023. Saab states the aircraft can enter operational service with NATO by 2031, ahead of the E-3A fleet's planned retirement in 2035. The GlobalEye system integrates Saab's Erieye Extended Range radar, additional sensors, and a command and control system on a Bombardier Global 6500 airframe.
The platform is designed to detect low-observable threats, drones, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles in cluttered and jammed environments.
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