Canada has entered negotiations to acquire Saab’s GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, selecting the Swedish system built on Bombardier’s Global 6500 platform over US alternatives for a future Royal Canadian Air Force surveillance fleet.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the move on May 27, 2026, at CANSEC, Canada’s largest defense and security trade show. Saab said Canada has selected the company as the “preferred supplier” for detailed discussions and formal negotiations, but said no contract has been signed and no order has been received.
“In an increasingly dangerous and divided world, Canada must be prepared to defend ourselves and our Allies,” Carney’s office said in a statement announcing the move toward the Saab offering.
The Canadian government said the partnership is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs in the Canadian aerospace and defense sector. It said no less than one-third of the projected GlobalEye fleet will be manufactured in Canada over the next 15 years, amounting to at least 40 aircraft when allied orders are included.
Canada has not disclosed the value of the proposed acquisition. AP reported that the Canadian government had previously said it was in the market for six radar aircraft.
GlobalEye combines Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar, an advanced sensor suite and a multi-domain command-and-control system on Bombardier’s Global 6500 business jet. Saab said the aircraft would allow Canada to monitor large areas of land, sea and air, including low-observable threats, drones, ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles in cluttered and contested environments.
Saab said it has offered to build, maintain and upgrade the Canadian GlobalEye fleet with Canadian partners, while transferring knowledge and technology into Canada. The company also plans to invest in research and development work in Canada as part of the program.
The decision moves Canada away from the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, which had been viewed as a leading Western AEW&C option and had been in contention for the Canadian program. AP reported that Canada chose the Saab/Bombardier aircraft over two US-based alternatives: Boeing’s E-7A Wedgetail and L3Harris’s Aeris X.
The GlobalEye decision also fits into a broader Canadian push to reduce reliance on US defense suppliers while strengthening Canada’s domestic aerospace base. Carney’s office described the move as a way to build Canadian strategic autonomy, create jobs and reinforce Canada’s position as a global leader.
Saab has been building its Canadian industrial case around GlobalEye for more than a year. In May 2025, the company pitched the aircraft as a combination of Swedish mission-system expertise and Canadian aerospace manufacturing, with the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 at the center of the proposal.
Saab and CAE announced a GlobalEye training and simulation agreement in November 2025, while Saab and Canadian AI company Cohere signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2026 covering advanced AI collaboration tied to the GlobalEye opportunity in Canada.
GlobalEye is already in service or on order with several countries. The United Arab Emirates and Sweden operate or have ordered the aircraft, and France announced plans in 2025 to procure GlobalEye as part of its own airborne early warning modernization effort.
For Canada, the aircraft would add a dedicated airborne early warning and control capability as the country invests in Arctic surveillance, NORAD modernization and long-range detection of air and missile threats. Canada’s 2024 defense policy said airborne early warning aircraft would help detect aircraft and missiles at long range, manage the battlespace and improve Royal Canadian Air Force response times.
Saab said it will now follow the next steps in the procurement process with Canadian authorities. The company did not announce a delivery schedule for the proposed Canadian fleet.
