Netherlands to Acquire Swedish Saab GlobalEye AEW&C

The Netherlands has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sweden to acquire the Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, which provides long-range detection capabilities.

This was reported by the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

The customer is expected to take delivery of the aircraft in 2031; however, starting in 2028, Dutch crews will have access to three Swedish aircraft under a joint-use arrangement.

Acquiring its own aircraft will allow the country to reduce its dependence on NATO’s aging fleet of AWACS aircraft and independently determine its reconnaissance missions.

The Swedish company Saab began developing the GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft in the early 2010s, and the platform was officially unveiled in 2016. The project’s main objective was to create a versatile reconnaissance system capable of operating simultaneously across the air, maritime, and land domains.

The Canadian ultra-long-range business jet Bombardier Global 6000 (and later the Global 6500 version) was selected as the primary airframe for the system. The United Arab Emirates became the aircraft’s first customer, signing a contract in 2015.

The core of the GlobalEye’s radar suite is the multifunctional Erieye ER (Extended Range) radar, which features an active electronically scanned array (AESA) and operates in the S-band. The use of gallium nitride (GaN) has allowed the developers to increase the target detection range by 70% compared to previous versions of the system — the radar’s range exceeds 550 km.