The Netherlands Signs Up for a Saab GlobalEye, Its First Radar Jet of Its Own

The Netherlands has signed a letter of intent with Sweden to acquire one Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced on September 10, 2026. It would be the first aircraft of its kind the Dutch armed forces have owned.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius signed the document with Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson, according to the Swedish government. Delivery of the Dutch aircraft is planned for 2031.

How the Dutch and Swedish fleets will work together

The Dutch jet will join a shared pool with the Swedish Air Force’s three GlobalEyes, the Dutch ministry said, giving crews from both countries access to whichever aircraft is available. Sweden’s defence procurement agency, FMV, will support the Netherlands in acquiring the system from Saab.

Dutch crews get access to the Swedish aircraft from 2028, three years before their own jet arrives. The ministry said that lets them build experience with the aircraft and its procedures early, and lets the Netherlands deploy the capability from that point.

The two governments also plan to cooperate on the system’s future development. Jonson said GlobalEye provides the kind of advanced situational picture modern forces need against threats ranging from drones to missiles.

Why a NATO AWACS partner wants its own jet

Until now the Netherlands has relied on NATO’s pooled fleet of Boeing E-3 AWACS aircraft, which the Dutch ministry describes as outdated. Those jets are owned by the alliance itself and fly from Geilenkirchen in Germany, close to the Dutch border.

A shared fleet has a built-in limit: its aircraft go where the alliance sends them. A national GlobalEye, the ministry said, lets the Netherlands decide more independently where and when the aircraft is used, including for its own operations and exercises.

The purchase comes on top of NATO’s own E-3 replacement. On July 7, 2026, eleven allies including the Netherlands and Sweden announced the joint procurement of GlobalEye as NATO’s new AWACS, and Secretary General Mark Rutte put that buy at up to ten aircraft, Breaking Defense reported.

GlobalEye was not NATO’s first choice. The alliance had planned to buy six Boeing E-7 Wedgetails, but the partner nations dropped the plan in November 2025 after the United States left the consortium.

Without the Americans, “both the strategic and financial foundations were lost,” the Dutch ministry said at the time, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

What the Dutch would be getting

GlobalEye pairs Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar with a Bombardier Global 6000 or 6500 business jet. The radar’s 33-foot (10 m) antenna sits in the flat “ski-box” fairing mounted on top of the fuselage.

Saab says the aircraft offers 12 hours of endurance and can detect low-flying threats more than 250 miles (400 km) away when operating at 35,000 feet. It adds a maritime surveillance radar and ground moving target tracking, so a single aircraft can watch the air, the sea, and the land at once.

That multi-domain reach is why the type keeps winning orders in Europe and beyond. France selected GlobalEye in June 2025 and Canada opened negotiations with Saab in May 2026, The Aviationist noted, while an undisclosed Middle Eastern customer ordered two aircraft in July.

The signing also landed days before Sweden’s parliamentary election, which Breaking Defense noted could make this Jonson’s last major procurement announcement as minister.