NATO To Order Up to 10 Saab GlobalEye AEW&C Aircraft

NATO has officially selected Saab’s GlobalEye platform—a missionized Bombardier Global 6500 business jet—as its next “eyes in the sky” solution. In a move set to end more than four decades of reliance on U.S.-originated systems, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte on Tuesday confirmed the alliance will begin negotiations with Saab to buy up to 10 GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft.

If the deal is finalized, Sweden-based Saab will have won the contract over U.S. alternatives such as the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail and L3Harris-modified AERIS platform. NATO states have increasingly signaled an intent to reallocate their increased defense spending amid sustained criticism from the Trump Administration—as evidenced by Canada's selection of the GlobalEye platform in May.

Saab president and CEO Micael Johansson is “confident that GlobalEye is the right choice for the Alliance, delivering proven capability, adaptability, and long-term operational advantage.” The selection builds on other existing firm orders for GlobalEye from the UAE, Sweden, and France.

NATO, which is holding a summit meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara this week, first identified the need to replace its ageing Boeing E-3A Sentries—modified Boeing 707s—in 2016, declaring at the time that “by 2035, the alliance needs to have a follow-on capability” to its 14 legacy assets. These aircraft have been in service since 1982, with what NATO described as a “large-scale mission and audio system modernization effort” ongoing to ensure the E3A's operational viability until 2035.

Wedgetail Woes and European Investment

NATO’s pivot to GlobalEye follows an uncertain procurement process initially centered around the E-7A Wedgetail, which is a modified Boeing 737 platform. In November 2023, a consortium of seven NATO partners announced it was to collectively acquire six units, with the first aircraft expected to reach initial operational capability by 2031. This followed the selection of the E-7 by the U.S. Air Force earlier that year.

However, following the USAF’s cancellation of the E-7 program in July 2025—which cited escalating costs and survivability concerns—NATO also abandoned its E-7 acquisition intentions in November. At the time, the Dutch ministry of defense highlighted that the U.S. withdrawal had prompted “significant changes” to the AEW&Cs replacement program. Dutch state secretary Gijs Tuiman added that “the withdrawal of the U.S. demonstrates the importance of investing as much as possible in the European industry.”

Although the Pentagon subsequently signaled its intention to continue funding the E-7 program in May, it seems NATO’s long-lasting partnership with a Boeing-built platform may be over.

Another contender for the contract was U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies, offering AERIS: a Global 6500-based solution developed with Israel Aerospace Industries. In February, L3Harris principal for international business development Jason Whitford told AIN he believed Korea’s AERIS selection and technology transfer agreement could be “a winning model in other places as well.” L3Harris has been approached for comment.