COLOGNE, Germany – Swedish company Saab has received a highly anticipated $ 1 billion order for two more GlobalEye spy planes from the United Arab Emirates, the company said on Monday.
The contract is an extension of a 2015 contract that saw the country sign up for the first three copies of the GlobalEye, which consists of Bombardier Global 6000 business jets equipped with Saab’s Erieye long-range radar and other surveillance sensors. This agreement included an option for two additional purchases that are now coming into effect.
“We are proud that the United Arab Emirates continue to show great confidence in Saab and our solutions,” Saab CEO Micael Johansson was quoted as saying in a statement. “It shows that Saab stays on the cutting edge of advanced technology. The Global Eye program is going according to plan and we are working efficiently with the customer. “
Saab expects work on the two new aircraft to be completed by 2025 at the Swedish sites in Gothenburg, Linköping, Arboga, Järfälla and Luleå, and Centurion in South Africa.
The contract was signed on December 30, which means Saab can post it on the 2020 balance sheet, the company said.
The UAE military received its first GlobalEye aircraft from the 2015 deal in the spring of 2020 when the coronavirus crisis was just beginning to take over the globe.
The Global 6000 series business and VIP jets continue to be popular platforms for information gathering and early warning. A year ago, the German government abandoned plans to purchase US Navy’s Triton drones for signaling information and instead installed the necessary sensor equipment on the manned jets.
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