Sweden orders two S 106 GlobalEyes from Saab
The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV, the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration) has placed an order with Saab for two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW & C) aircraft. The new agreement, based on a procurement process that began as early as October 2021, also includes an option to purchase up to two additional GlobalEyes.
Based on the Bombardier Global 6000 business jet aircraft, GlobalEye will be named S 106 in the service of the Armed Forces. The contract, worth approximately SEK 7.3 billion (USD 710 million), was signed on June 30, with deliveries of the two aircraft planned for 2027.
“GlobalEye will provide Sweden with airborne early warning and world-class control capacity,” says Saab’s President and CEO Micael Johansson. “Saab’s most important mission is to keep people and communities safe, and I am proud that GlobalEye will further strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces.”
GlobalEye has Saab Erieye ER radar in a “ski-box” cover and advanced command and control system, and offers a potent AEW & C capacity with a radar range of over 300nm. The aircraft also has other sensors such as multi-roll search radar and electro-optical sensors for sea and land monitoring. The launch customer was the United Arab Emirates, which has received three GlobalEyes with another pair currently undergoing modification.
In the Swedish military service, the S 106s will be operated from Linköping-Malmen, from where the air force’s current AEW & C assets operate with F7’s 72nd Special Flight Division (special flight squadron, also designed as the 72nd ASC Squadron). These assets consist of a pair of Saab S 100Ds – also known as ASR890 – that have a previous iteration of the Erieye radar mounted on a Saab 340 regional aircraft.
S 100Ds have been used intensively in recent years due to growing tensions with Russia and increasing activity across the Baltic Sea with Russian aircraft. GlobalEyes will provide significantly increased levels of hull and system performance. “S 106 embodies a significantly enhanced reconnaissance and command capability over air, sea and land, and also a longer endurance and range compared to today’s capacity,” commented Ingela Mathiasson, head of flight equipment at FMV.