Overview
- NATO said it will begin formal negotiations with Saab, led by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, to jointly procure up to ten GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft as a successor to its ageing E-3A Sentry fleet, a decision announced on July 7.
- Saab has confirmed no contract or order has been signed and said deliveries could start around 2030 while some Swedish officials have privately suggested earlier basing activity by 2027, leaving final numbers, configurations and schedule unresolved.
- The GlobalEye choice follows the collapse of the earlier plan to buy Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft after the U.S. Air Force shifted priorities in 2025, reopening the competition and increasing emphasis on European and Canadian industry roles.
- NATO’s announcement on July 7 also included parallel moves to add up to five MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drones and to create a pooled Airbus A400M transport fleet plus tanker expansions and counter‑drone investments to modernize ISR and mobility across the Alliance.
- Program cost estimates reported by Saab and others put unit prices near $400–450 million and a notional program value around $4.5 billion but final price, sustainment deals, and industrial work-sharing — including production hubs in Sweden and Canada — will be fixed in negotiations and affect jobs and basing plans.