France to acquire Saab GlobalEye AEW&C system

Saab and the French defence procurement agency, Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), have signed a joint declaration of intent regarding the sale of Saab’s GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to France, including ground equipment, training and support, says the Swedish company.

GlobalEye consists of a Bombardier Global 6000/6500 business jet carrying the Saab Erieye ER (for extended range) and Leonardo Seaspray 7500E maritime surveillance radars and largely replaces the ageing Saab 340-based system

The joint declaration of intent, signed at the Paris Air Show, includes DGA’s intention to procure two GlobalEye aircraft from Saab to replace the French Air Force’s four ageing Boeing E-3F Sentry AEW aircraft which were delivered from 1991. The joint declaration of intent also includes an option to purchase two additional aircraft, adds Saab.

A final notification process to complete the procurement will now follow, Saab says. The DGA has stated that a contract is expected to be finalised in the coming months. The parties have not yet entered into a contract and Saab has not yet received an order for GlobalEye from France, Saab cautions.

“We welcome today’s announcement by France about the intention to procure GlobalEye,” said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab. This will “enhance the French Armed Forces’ situational awareness and threat detection across the air, land and sea domains. Our solution will enable France to maintain full sovereign control of its airborne early warning and control capability.”

To date Saab has sold its GlobalEye AEW&C system to the United Arab Emirates, which had acquired a reported five; and to the Swedish Air Force which has ordered three

GlobalEye is an advanced multi-domain AEW&C solution with an array of active and passive sensors that provide long-range detection and identification of objects in the air, at sea and over land. By providing real-time information to air forces, armies and navies, GlobalEye enables enhanced situational awareness of the surrounding areas and early detection of threats.