Saab rolls out first GlobalEye aircraft for Sweden — AeroTime
Swedish company Saab has rolled out at its facility in Linköping the first GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft built for Sweden. In Swedish service, the aircraft will carry the designation S 106, with delivery scheduled for 2027, AeroTime reports.
Before its first flight, the S 106 must undergo testing and verification. Sweden is expected to become the first NATO country to operate GlobalEye. The system combines Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar with other active and passive sensors installed on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet.
Capabilities of the new aircraft
GlobalEye is designed to detect and track targets in the air, at sea and on land, as well as transmit information to aircraft, ships and ground forces. Saab says the Erieye Extended Range radar has a range of more than 550 kilometers.
The Global 6000 platform is also used for Sweden’s new TP 106 government transport aircraft, which was delivered earlier in 2026. The common platform may simplify cooperation in personnel training, maintenance and spare-parts supply.
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Replacement for ASC 890 aircraft
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, ordered two GlobalEye aircraft in June 2022 under a contract worth approximately SEK 7.3 billion. In June 2024, FMV exercised an option for a third aircraft worth about SEK 2.6 billion; the contractual delivery period for it will run until 2029.
The new aircraft are intended to replace Saab 340 ASC 890 radar surveillance aircraft, which the Swedish government pledged to transfer to Ukraine in May 2024. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence confirmed in September 2026 that the ASC 890 aircraft provided by Sweden had carried out their first combat missions in March of the same year.
Cooperation with the Netherlands and NATO
In September 2026, the Netherlands signed a letter of intent with Sweden to purchase one GlobalEye. The Dutch aircraft is expected to join a joint fleet of three Swedish GlobalEyes, while Dutch personnel will gain access to Swedish aircraft from 2028. At the same time, Saab stressed that it had not received a Dutch order at the time the arrangement was announced.
NATO also announced its intention to begin negotiations with Saab on purchasing up to 10 GlobalEye aircraft to replace aging Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft. This multinational acquisition will be separate from the national orders of Sweden and France, as well as the Netherlands’ planned purchase.
