Saab has delivered its fifth GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) according to a statement on 17 September 2024.
This delivery marks the transfer of five aircraft in less than ten years.
The airborne surveillance aircraft is capable of air, maritime and ground surveillance from a single platform with the ability to switch different roles at any point during an ongoing mission.
UAE GlobalEye activity
Though, the UAE first contracted Saab for the GlobalEye in a deal worth $1.27bn (Dh4.66bn) in November 2015, the platform was first launched at the Singapore Airshow several months later in 2016.
The nation has now reached its initial order of five units, though it has yet to acquire the two additional GlobalEye aircraft the government ordered back in 2021. Likewise, the user expanded its GlobalEye services with Saab at the start of 2024 with an order for a three-year in-service support period that runs until 2026, valued at $190m.
The Middle Eastern nation, located in the Persian Gulf, initially sought the GlobalEye for its ‘swing role surveillance’ capability integrated with a new variant of the Saab 2000 Erieye radar system.
GlobalEye also ensures a maximum mission endurance of more than 11 hours. It allows for operations from short runways in small airports.
GlobalEye sensor suite
GlobalEye uses an array of active and passive sensors that provide long-range detection and identification of objects across all domains.
The main sensor of the GlobalEye system is the Erieye extended range S-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) multi-mode radar. Saab designed this radar to collect and target data in a large air volume and/or across a vast surface area, in heavy clutter and jamming environments.
Likewise, the long-range airborne radar offers all-domain surveillance, while offering an increased detection range in comparison with ‘stealthy’ low observable air targets.
The radar is also capable of detecting and tracking air targets of any size over land and sea. Critically, it can also detect tiny targets such as cruise missiles in heavy clutter environments and even small objects such as submarine periscopes and small waterborne craft.
In addition, the aircraft is mounted with a high-performance maritime surveillance radar beneath the fuselage for close-range maritime and ground surveillance, radar imaging, and search-and-rescue missions. It also features an electro-optical system, which can simultaneously operate in the visible, near-infrared and mid-wave infrared spectrums.
