Saab and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defense signed a contract and Saab received an order for ongoing logistics and training support for the GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) solution.
The contract includes maintenance and logistics support as well as training services and is worth approximately US$190 million, with a three-year contract period extending to 2026.
“This agreement solidifies Saab’s role in ensuring that GlobalEye remains mission-ready. We look forward to further strengthening our partnership with the UAE Air Force and Air Defence and providing long-term local support,” says Carl-Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s business area Surveillance.
GlobalEye is an advanced multi-domain AEW&C solution with a suite of active and passive sensors that provide long-range detection and identification of objects in the air, at sea and on land. By providing real-time information to air force units, armies and navies, GlobalEye enables improved situational awareness in surrounding areas and early threat detection.
GlobalEye launch customer
UAE signed with Saab the purchase contract for the first three units (already delivered) of the modern Swedish AEW&C aircraft in 2015. That contract stipulated an option to purchase an additional two units, which became effective in January 2021, for an order value of $1.018 billion.
By 2025, the UAE will move to operating a fleet of 5 GlobalEye, which would allow them to have one aircraft in the air 24hs, or 2 on shorter duration missions, when the situation requires it.
See also: Saab unveils first Saab 340 AEW airborne early warning aircraft for Poland
The Swedish Air Force will also become a GlobalEye operator, which will replace its current fleet of Saab 340 AEWs.
