Netherlands to purchase its own GlobalEye aircraft, on top of NATO’s order

STOCKHOLM — The Netherlands have agreed to purchase a Saab-made GlobalEye airborne surveillance and command-and-control aircraft, with delivery scheduled for 2031, Sweden announced today. 

The plane, which would be delivered in 2031, is in addition to The Hague’s role in a NATO purchase of up to 10 GlobalEye aircraft, announced earlier this year. In effect, this plane would guarantee the capability for Dutch requirements, in addition to the pooled NATO resource. 

“I welcome the Netherlands’ decision to purchase GlobalEye. Through this cooperation, Dutch crews will be able to train on Swedish systems as early as 2028, while we build the conditions for joint use, training and operational cooperation,” Defense Minister Pål Jonson said in a statement to Breaking Defense on Thursday morning.

“This will give our air forces better situational awareness, higher interoperability and a greater ability to jointly lead and conduct air operations within NATO,” Jonson stated.

Jonson has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with his counterpart, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius. However, there are still steps to come, as Saab said in a statement that it has not yet received an order from the Netherlands and “stands prepared and awaits the next steps of the procurement process.”

It has been a successful year for Saab’s GlobalEye offering. 

In May, Canada announced plans to acquire GlobalEye and said the deal would include a production line in the country for both domestic and export markets, however no contracts are signed with Canada and NATO on Global Eye as negotiations continues. 

Then in July, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said a group of allies had jointly decided to acquire GlobalEye aircraft to replace the Alliance’s aging E-3 Sentry surveillance planes. The selection of a European solution came five months after a group of allies walked away from a planned buy of Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft due to the loss of “strategic and financial foundations.”

Weeks later, Saab also received an order for two GlobalEye aircraft from an undisclosed country in the Middle East. “A new GlobalEye customer,” the company said. That order is valued at 10.1 billion kronor (about $1 billion), with deliveries scheduled for 2030.

Today’s announcement may be the last major acquisition announcement from Jonson. This weekend marks parliamentary elections in Sweden, with polls showing a very slim lead for the center-left opposition over the ruling right-wing block.