NATO has selected Saab’s GlobalEye as its next airborne early warning and control aircraft, paving the way for the possible purchase of up to 10 systems.
Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the decision during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, confirming that the alliance will begin formal negotiations with Saab and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency for the acquisition.
GlobalEye was selected as NATO seeks to replace its aging airborne warning and control system fleet as part of a broader effort to modernize the alliance’s surveillance and situational awareness capabilities.
Built on the Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, the aircraft combines Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar with multiple sensors and a command-and-control system capable of monitoring air, land, and maritime domains.
The platform can detect drones, stealth aircraft, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic threats while operating in electronically contested environments.
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson described GlobalEye as one that provides “precisely the kind of advanced situational awareness that modern defences need to combat everything from drones, missiles and other types of threats.”
“It is gratifying that more and more people are seeing the value of this state-of-the-art platform,” he said.
The Swedish government added that the planned purchase is expected to generate jobs in Sweden across development, production, integration, support, and high-tech supply chains throughout the program’s life cycle.
No contract has been signed yet. And while the company noted it has not yet received a formal order, Saab President Micael Johansson said they “look forward to the next steps in the negotiations.”
Saab Expands NATO Presence
The GlobalEye selection adds to Saab’s growing portfolio of NATO-related programs and contracts in recent years.
In September 2025, the alliance selected the company to lead the Mangrove consortium under the Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network program, which will develop a common architecture for connecting manned and unmanned naval platforms across the underwater battlespace.
Earlier, in February 2024, NATO awarded Saab a 63-million-euro ($67.6 million) contract under the Ammunition Support Partnership to supply AT4 man-portable anti-armor weapons to allied members.
