Sweden moves closer to GlobalEye contract award | News
Stockholm has taken a significant step closer to ordering GlobalEye surveillance aircraft to replace its current pair of Saab 340-based Erieye airborne early warning aircraft.
“Sweden has now prepared to be able to acquire GlobalEye. We do not have a contract yet, but they have announced that they would like to go this route “, said Saab’s CEO Micael Johansson during a report for the third quarter on 22 October.
The Swedish Air Force has previously expressed interest in setting up the Bombardier Global 6000-based GlobalEye to meet its future airborne surveillance needs. An order from Stockholm would represent a second success for the product, where the United Arab Emirates has already received three of its five copies to order.
There is no information on how many GlobalEyes Stockholm are interested in buying, or when they might want the type to enter service, but Johansson says: “If you look at Sweden and Finland, I assume it will be similar. ” Saab has offered two highly customized business jet aircraft to Helsinki together with 64 Gripen E-fighter aircraft as part of its HX program.
“Because we have a finished product, a [Swedish] Contracts can be quite fast – but it depends on the customer. We are prepared to do it very quickly when they have it [government] decision, he says.
When we look at the other sales opportunities in the short term, Johansson says: “Over the next six months, I hope that we will know the results of both Finland and Canada in terms of acquiring fighter jets.” Ottawa’s requirement is an expected 88 aircraft.
At the same time, Johansson says that Saab’s opening in mid-October of a US production facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, marks “an important step in its international expansion”. The facility will manufacture stern sections for the T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer, jointly developed by the company and Boeing.
In mid-September, Saab sent its third aft body section from Linköping in Sweden in support of the T-7A program’s current design, manufacturing and development phase. It notes that its first such structure was paired with the aircraft’s front fuselage by Boeing in just 30 minutes.
The U.S. Air Force plans to acquire 351 T-7As to replace part of its fleet of its Northrop T-38 jet trainers. Johansson says that Boeing and Saab expect a so-called “Milestone C” production decision to be made during the “autumn of 2022”.
At the same time, Saab is already making progress as part of its latest promise to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and to achieve net zero status by 2050. Johansson says a 15% reduction has been recorded in the company’s activities so far in 2021.
“It’s about our own business – energy efficiency at our facilities, how we travel, how we work with different test activities; trying to simulate instead of testing in reality, he says. “It’s a comprehensive package of things that we will accelerate.” The company will also work with its supply chain and end users to also reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, he adds.
“The demand from our customers for environmentally friendly equipment and products is enormous,” he states. “This will be an integral part of our R&D investment and strategy going forward.”