Saab wins $1B order for two GlobalEye spy planes from undisclosed Middle Eastern buyer

Stockholm, Sweden – Saab announced on July 27, 2026, that it has received an order for two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from an undisclosed country in the Middle East. The deal is valued at approximately $1 billion.

Deliveries under the new contract are scheduled for 2030. Citing national security concerns and the sensitive nature of the defense industry, Saab declined to name the buyer or provide further details on the contract.

Confidentiality and Market Context

Such confidentiality is not unusual in the defense sector, where surveillance aircraft sales often function as intelligence-sharing arrangements between allied governments. Buyers frequently prefer to keep their acquisition of high-end reconnaissance capabilities out of public view.

GlobalEye Capabilities

Built on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet airframe and equipped with active and passive sensors, GlobalEye is designed to track and identify targets across three domains simultaneously: air, sea, and land. The aircraft feeds real-time data to friendly forces, enabling commanders to detect threats before they close distance.

According to figures Saab presented alongside its second-quarter 2026 results:

• Endurance: Up to 12 hours per mission
• Detection range: Beyond 650 kilometers (404 miles)
• Classification: Capable of monitoring an entire regional theater from a single orbit far from any border

Executive Comment

"This order underscores our commitment to providing customers with mission-proven, multi-domain AEW&C capability. The increasing international interest in GlobalEye reflects its effectiveness and reliability in modern air defence operations."

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— Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab

Growing International Demand

GlobalEye's customer base has expanded significantly:

• United Arab Emirates – Launch customer, with five aircraft already in operational service
• Sweden – Three aircraft on order
• France – Two aircraft on order
• Canada – Named Saab's system its preferred supplier for a future airborne surveillance requirement in late May 2026
• NATO – Announced intention to acquire up to ten heavily modified GlobalEye-based aircraft to replace the alliance's aging AWACS fleet

The addition of an undisclosed Middle Eastern buyer signals that demand for the platform now extends well beyond its original Gulf foothold into a genuinely global sales pipeline.

Production and Supply Chain Challenges

Saab told investors during its second-quarter earnings presentation that supply chain constraints—not factory floor space or hiring—are now the primary bottleneck limiting production speed. The company is working to scale annual production from two aircraft today to approximately six by 2030 through supplier partnerships, rather than a major expansion of its own infrastructure.

Saab is investing roughly 10 billion Swedish kronor annually across its business into capacity expansion. New production facilities in Grayling, Michigan, and in India are expected online in late 2026 and early 2027, reflecting a broader strategy of localizing production closer to key customers and NATO's defense industrial base.

Record Order Backlog

This latest contract arrives during a record period for Saab. The company's order backlog hit new highs in the second quarter of 2026, driven in part by:

• Ukraine – Ordered 16 Gripen E fighter jets valued at approximately $2.5 billion (expected to be formally booked in Q3 2026)
• Germany's TKMS – Approximately $890 million contract to deliver combat systems and sensors for four new German Navy frigates

Together with the new GlobalEye order, these deals reflect a company whose surveillance and combat aircraft businesses are both being propelled by the same wave of allied rearmament reshaping European and NATO defense spending.