European interest in Saab’s GlobalEye surveillance aircraft is continuing to build, as the Swedish company awaits the finalisation of a deal to supply the platform to the French air force.
“We have interest from NATO, from Germany and from Denmark, and a number of other countries are looking into our GlobalEye system,” Saab chief executive Micael Johansson said during a third-quarter earnings call on 24 October.
Paris in June 2025 announced that it intended to buy two of the heavily-adapted Bombardier Global 6500s for use as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) assets. It also secured an option to later increase this to four examples.
“We are waiting for them to sign the contract as quickly as possible,” Johansson says.
“A number of countries have a huge interest in our system,” he notes. “I hope that we will see the GlobalEye system taking a bigger position within the [NATO] alliance, with multiple countries going for GlobalEye.”
Beyond those prospects, Johansson reveals: “We have a couple of interests also in the Middle East”, without identifying the parties involved.
Saab in September 2024 delivered its fifth and final Global 6000-based GlobalEye to have been acquired by launch operator the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia is the only other Gulf Cooperation Council member to currently have an AEW&C capability, using an aged fleet of five Boeing E-3As.
Another three examples of the GlobalEye are currently in production for the Swedish air force, with Stockholm’s first example due to be delivered in 2027.
