Saab Scores $1B GlobalEye Order from Middle East

Saab has received an order for two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft “from a country in the Middle East region.” Announced yesterday, the $1 billion deal will see the pair of heavily modified Bombardier Global 6500s delivered to the as-yet-anonymous nation in 2030.

According to Saab CEO Micael Johansson, “The increasing international interest in GlobalEye reflects its effectiveness and reliability in modern air defense operations.” In November, he confirmed to Reuters that “Qatar and Saudi Arabia have both shown interest in the early warning and control aircraft already ordered by the United Arab Emirates. We are campaigning, and we have given them offers.”

While Qatar and Kuwait currently have no sovereign AEW&C capability, the Royal Saudi Air Force operates up to five aging Boeing E-3A Sentries, purchased some four decades ago. In 2018, a modernization agreement with Boeing pledged to upgrade these to Block 40/45 configuration, looking to keep the E-3 interoperable with USAF examples and “functionally viable through its expected end of life in 2040.”

However, this is not the first time Saudi Arabia has turned to Sweden for its airborne surveillance requirements, having ordered two Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft in 2010. Two secondhand Swedish transport aircraft were modified and delivered in 2014.

This new order builds on a strong year of sales for the GlobalEye platform. NATO selected up to 10 in early July, while Canada announced Saab as “its preferred supplier” of its upcoming airborne early warning aircraft in May. Sweden and France have ordered three and two, respectively, while launch customer the UAE has already received its full complement of five.