NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced that a number of allies have decided to procure up to 10 Saab GlobalEye aircraft to replace their aging E-3 AWACS fleet.
After months of anticipation, NATO has officially selected Saab GlobalEye as its next Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) platform, replacing the aging E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). The decision was announced by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at a summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Rutte said many allies had jointly decided to acquire GlobalEye and build up to 10 aircraft. The new platform will not replace the E-3 one-to-one. Because the fleet currently has 14 aircraft and originally consisted of 18 aircraft.
Now: NATO allies have beaten Boeing to a deal to jointly procure up to 10 Saab GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft. pic.twitter.com/d6RALojxTS
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 7, 2026
French and German media outlets first reported on the Alliance’s selection of GlobalEye in April 2026, citing sources familiar with the matter. However, this was not confirmed by NATO or Saab at the time.
NATO said in a statement that the coalition forces involved in the decision were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Sweden. The eight coalition forces have also launched a new collaborative project to deploy airborne early warning capabilities to meet national requirements.
In a press statement acknowledging NATO’s decision, Saab noted that it “has not entered into any contracts or received any orders related to this announcement.” Negotiations with the NATO Support Procurement Agency (NSPA) will now begin, but no timetable has yet been set.
“We are honored and proud to support NATO in its next-generation AEW&C capabilities,” said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab. “We are confident that GlobalEye is the right choice for the alliance, offering proven capabilities, adaptability and long-term operational advantages. Today’s announcement clearly demonstrates that GlobalEye is the world’s leading solution for advanced airborne early warning and control. We look forward to the next phase of negotiations.”
Great news! I am proud that NATO has chosen the Swedish platform GlobalEye as the Alliance’s new platform for airborne early warning and control.
GlobalEye will significantly contribute to key requirements for collective defense. A good day for NATO and a good day for Swedish jobs 🤝 pic.twitter.com/jU6XtQiuNn
— Wolf Christerson (@SwedishPM) July 7, 2026
The news was also welcomed by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who said it represented “a moment of great pride for Sweden and an even prouder moment for what NATO entails.” He also added, “By 2027, we will see these GlobalEyes operating from bases in Sweden.” defense destruction.
Wrong wedgetail procurement
NATO had initially decided to replace its current fleet of 14 E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft with six new E-7A Wedgetail aircraft in 2023. This decision was part of the initial Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (iAFSC) capability deal, which provided initial elements to mitigate the risk of an airborne surveillance and control capability gap resulting from the retirement of AWACS.
“The E-7A is currently the only known system that can meet Strategic Command’s essential operational requirements and key performance parameters and can be delivered within the required timeframe,” the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) said at the time. The consortium that carried out the procurement consisted of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, and the United States.
Among NATO members, Turkey already operates the Wedgetail, while the United States and United Kingdom have selected the E-7 as a replacement for their AWACS aircraft. Wedgetails programs in the US and UK have already been postponed.
In 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced that it would represent countries on the iAFSC Support Partnership Committee to explore alternatives to replace aging AWACS aircraft by 2035. The announcement came as the Air Force’s plans were moving away from the E-7, but it’s unclear how much of an impact this had on the decision.
Saab Global Eye
Saab GlobalEye is described as a multi-domain AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) aircraft designed to provide long-range surveillance across air, sea and land domains. The platform combines Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar with additional surveillance sensors and a multi-domain command and control (C2) system from the Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft.
The durable business jet airframe can support missions that can last more than 11 hours. This allows the surveillance mission to be expanded over a wide area while operating at high altitudes.
The Erieye radar is the platform’s primary sensor, installed in the dorsal fairing above the fuselage. Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar utilizing gallium nitride (GaN) technology is designed to detect and track long-range aerial targets, including low-flying aircraft, while maintaining wide-area aerial surveillance.
Additionally, GlobalEye integrates a Leonardo Seaspray 7500E maritime surveillance radar, FLIR Systems Star SAFIRE 380HD electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, electronically supported measurement (ESM), identification of enemy (IFF) system, and automatic identification system (AIS) receivers, enabling it to detect, identify, and track air, surface, and ground contact using multiple sensor types.
Information collected by onboard sensors is processed through Saab’s mission system. The system can support military operations by fusing data from multiple sources and distributing it over existing command and control networks. This allows operators to monitor activity across multiple domains while sharing real-time information with air, ground and maritime forces.
