Toronto/CMEDIA: Canada is reportedly negotiating a deal with Saab to buy its GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday.
Subject to the contracts being signed, sealed and delivered, Bombardier could be manufacturing at least 40 aircraft in its plants in Montreal and Toronto. The projected number also includes orders from Canada’s allies.
“With a suite of advanced sensors and mission systems, Saab’s GlobalEye will be a key resource for the Canadian Armed Forces to detect and deter threats across the Arctic…builds Canadian strategic autonomy, creates Canadian jobs and reinforces Canada’s position as a global leader, ” Carney told the audience of defence contractors and military officials at the opening of the annual arms trade show CANSEC in Ottawa.
Created by Swedish defence and security company Saab, the GlobalEye is an airborne warning and control system (AEW&C) developed in Sweden that uses Canadian-made jets.
Integrated into Bombardier’s Global 6500The radar system, The radar system transforms the corporate jet into a cutting-edge surveillance aircraft.Being built on a Bombardier 6500 executive jet with Saab radar and sensors, the system’s jet is manufactured at the company’s plant in Toronto.Canada to pick between
Also read: Swedish and U.S. radar planes to protect its skies
Also read: Saab wants Canada to buy 72 Gripens and 6 GlobalEyes to fulfil promise of 12,600 jobs
With the air force’s plan to acquire up to six early warning aircraft for both domestic and overseas operations, and with its ability to track objects on land, sea or air at a distance of up to 650 kilometres, the aircraft’s purchase was considered to be more urgent due to concern about surveillance in the Arctic.
The deal has the potential to support more than 3,000 jobs in the Canadian aerospace and defence sector from skilled trades to engineering to computing, said a news release.
In the past few months, Canada has been named the new global headquarters for the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which comes with 3500 projected jobs.
Having bundled its surveillance aircraft proposal in with its pitch to sell Gripen-E fighter jets to Canada, Saab had promised to transfer technology so both aircraft could be fully manufactured locally.
Although that issue has been under review for more than a year, Carney did not say if Canada will proceed with the Gripen and limit its purchase of American-made F-35 jets.
GlobalEye has been in competition against the U.S.-manufactured Boeing E-7 Wedgetail and the L3Harris Aeris X.
Meanwhile NATO is seriously thinking of replacing its aging fleet of Boeing E-3 Sentry with GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft.
