Paris Air Show 2025: France selects GlobalEye as AWACS replacement
France is to acquire two GlobalEye aircraft, with the option for a further two. (Saab)
France has selected the Saab GlobalEye to replace its ageing Boeing E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, the French defence procurement agency (Direction Générale de l'Armement: DGA) announced on 18 June.
The signing by Saab and the DGA of a joint declaration of intent to acquire two GlobalEye airframes with the option for a further two was timed to coincide with the Paris Air Show 2025, running from 16 to 22 June.
According to the DGA, the deal is to be finalised “in the coming months”, clearing the path for the French Air and Space Force to replace the four E-3Fs it received in 1991.
The GlobalEye is built around the Saab Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar that is housed in the same external dorsal ‘plank' as the company's original Erieye system.
Equipped with gallium nitride and other technologies, the Erieye ER is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) system that doubles the radar's power efficiency compared with previous Erieye iterations.
It has a range in excess of 650 km, which can be extended by focusing the radar's energy. Performance figures disclosed by Saab give the GlobalEye an endurance of more than 13 hours and a top speed of 450 kt.
For more information on the GlobalEye, please see Sweden contracts early entry into service for GlobalEye .
Go beyond the headlines - with direct links to interconnected entities
Get full access to validated equipment, military capabilities, and market insights.
