Saudi Arabia showing interest in GlobalEye?
May 9, 2025
His Excellency the Assistant Minister of Defence for Executive Affairs Dr Khaled Al-Bayari hs visited the headquarters of Swedish defence and aviation equipment manufacturer Saab, and was briefed on its advanced technical capabilities and innovative solutions in the defence and aviation sectors.
Dr Al-Bayari was photographed showing an apparently close interest in a model of the Saab S.106 GlobalEye, and was presented with a framed photograph of the type.
Saudi Arabia is an operator of the earlier Erieye AEW&C radar system, mounted on two Saab 2000s, though Saab has never confirmed this, coyly referring to Saudi Arabia as ‘country X’. Erieye systems were also delivered to Brazil, Greece, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Sweden, Thailand and the UAE, on a variety of platforms, and is soon expected to enter service in Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia is known to have a long-standing requirement for a new AEW&C aircraft, preferably one with longer sensor range and higher altitude performance, and selection of the GlobalEye would provide useful commonality and interoperability with the UAE Air Force and Air Defence’s aircraft, five of which have now been delivered.
During his official visit to Sweden, Dr Al-Bayari also met with the Director General of the Swedish Defence Materiel Agency (FMV) and the Deputy National Director for Armaments, Eva Hagwall. During this meeting, they discussed opportunities for bilateral co-operation in the defence industries, and the exchange of expertise in research and development, and technology transfer.
