Saab rolls out Sweden’s first GlobalEye radar jet
Saab has presented the first GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft built for the Swedish Air Force, a business jet-based radar plane that will replace the two older surveillance aircraft Sweden gave to Ukraine.
The company unveiled the aircraft on Oct. 15. The jet will now go through a phase of testing and verification before its first flight and delivery to Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration, known as FMV. Deliveries of the Swedish GlobalEyes are scheduled to begin in 2027.
“The presentation of Sweden’s first GlobalEye marks an important milestone for both Saab and the Swedish Armed Forces,” said Micael Johansson, president and CEO of Saab.
Sweden has ordered three of the aircraft, which it designates S 106. FMV signed for the first two in June 2022 with an option for more, and in June 2024 it exercised that option for a third aircraft worth about 2.6 billion Swedish kronor, roughly $246 million at the time.
GlobalEye is built on Bombardier’s Global 6000 long-range business jet, with Saab’s Erieye ER radar mounted in a roughly 10-meter (33-foot) fairing on top of the fuselage. Saab says the radar can detect targets up to about 550 km (342 miles) away when the aircraft flies at 35,000 feet, a 70% gain in range over earlier Erieye versions thanks in part to gallium nitride electronics. The aircraft can stay airborne for more than 11 hours.
The Swedish version carries a maritime surveillance radar, an electro-optical and infrared camera, electronic intelligence sensors and Link 16 data links alongside the main radar, letting crews track aircraft, ships and ground vehicles from one platform and share the picture with fighters, ships and ground units.
The order grew after Sweden decided in May 2024 to send Ukraine its two Saab 340-based ASC 890 early warning aircraft, the Swedish Air Force’s only airborne radar planes at the time. Stockholm said then that it would make up for the loss by buying a third GlobalEye and speeding up deliveries of the first two. In Swedish service, the GlobalEyes will be based at Ärna Air Base near Uppsala.
The United Arab Emirates became GlobalEye’s first operator in 2020. France placed a firm order on Dec. 30, 2025, for two aircraft worth 12.3 billion kronor, with options for two more and deliveries planned from 2029 to 2032, to replace its aging E-3F Sentry AWACS fleet.
Sweden also holds an option for a fourth GlobalEye, and the first Swedish aircraft now moves into ground and flight testing ahead of its 2027 delivery.
Source: Defence Blog
