Canada enters talks with Saab for GlobalEye purchase

MILAN — Canada has entered into negotiations with Saab for the planned procurement of the Swedish-made GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft, though no deal is official yet.

The announcement was made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney today at CANSEC, the country’s flagship defense trade show. A Saab press release clarified that Ottawa has selected the company as its “preferred supplier” for its future Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) capability program. 

“Saab has offered to build, maintain, and upgrade the Canadian GlobalEyes with a team of Canadian partners – the goal is to transfer knowledge and technology to Canada that will grow the domestic defense industry,” the company said. 

Saab added that it is following up on the next steps of this process with Canadian authorities, but that no contract or order has been issued. 

In a post on X, the Swedish Prime Minister sounded confident that an order would be placed for the aircraft, stating that he looks forward to “welcoming Canada into the GlobalEye family.”

The AEW&C program aims to equip the Royal Canadian Air Force with long-range surveillance capabilities to detect, track, and counter threats in remote areas, such as the Arctic. According to a CBC report published this month, Ottawa intends to acquire around half a dozen of these aircraft, a priority of the current Canadian administration.

The proposal put forward by Saab is based on the Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft, combined with the Swedish company’s extended-range radar, an advanced suite of sensors, and a multi-domain command-and-control system. It was up against two American offerings: the Aeris X by L3Harris and the E-7 Wedgetail from Boeing.

The GlobalEye is designed to identify targets at long ranges with its low-signature detection, including stealthy threats, drones, and ballistic and hypersonic missiles, in high-jamming environments, per Saab’s website. 

Canada is in line to become the third international buyer of the surveillance plane behind France and the UAE. However, Saab is hoping for even more from Ottawa, as it remains hopeful the Gripen fighter jet can swoop in and knock out the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter given tensions between Carney and US President Donald Trump.

Stockholm has put its weight behind the pitch for both GlobalEye and Gripen, with members of the Swedish royal family traveling to Canada late last year to help with the push.