NATO Plans to Replace AWACS with Saab GlobalEye Jets, Sources Say
The alliance’s 14 aging AWACS planes have served since 1982, and the replacement order could be larger than Canada’s six-jet GlobalEye deal.
- NATO plans to replace its aging Airborne Warning and Control System fleet with Swedish Saab GlobalEye aircraft, with an official announcement expected at a summit in Ankara on July 7 to 8.
- Operating from Geilenkirchen, Germany, these 14 aircraft have served as the alliance's eyes in the sky since 1982, monitoring surveillance missions along the eastern flank since Russia launched its war in Ukraine.
- After the Pentagon scrapped its acquisition of the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail in 2025, NATO shifted to the GlobalEye system, which is based on the Bombardier Global 6500 business jet.
- This Swedish procurement could jar with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged European allies to boost defense spending by purchasing more U.S. equipment.
- Canada recently moved to buy six GlobalEye jets, and Geilenkirchen could eventually house the world's largest fleet of the aircraft, establishing the platform as a key regional surveillance asset.
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Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) is now highlighting the latest export successes for the Swedish defense industry. During a press conference ahead of next week's NATO summit, he said that further deals may be imminent.
The Nato replaces the Awacs aircraft with its characteristic radar on the hull. The decision involves tensions with Trump on the summit round in Ankara.
NATO plans to replace AWACS with Saab GlobalEye jets, sources say
NATO prepares Saab GlobalEye selection as future airborne early warning platform to replace ageing E-3A Sentry fleet
If officially confirmed, the move would mark one of NATO’s most important decisions in airborne early warning since the 1980s. The Alliance would not be choosing a simple AWACS successor, but a multi-sensor surveillance, command and data-sharing system able to operate across air, maritime and land domains. For more than four decades, the Boeing E-3A Sentry has been the symbol of NATO’s airborne early warning system. Based on the Boeing 707 platf…
The contract to replace the fourteen E-3A Sentry early warning aircraft that NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (NAEW&C) has operated since 1982 was initially promised to Boeing's E-7A Wedgetail. In fact, in November 2023, the organization announced its intention to acquire six of these aircraft [for an unspecified amount, editor's note]... This article, "The replacement of NATO's E-3A Sentry early warning aircraft with Swedish Glob…
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- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources lean Right
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