It appears that the Swedish defence contractor SAAB has secured a massive deal with NATO. The organisation's current E-3 Sentry (Boeing) early warning aircraft is set to be replaced, and according to La Lettre, they have chosen the Globaleye (SAAB) as its successor. As recently as last year, it looked as though NATO would choose Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, but that plan fell through, and now it appears that European technology will be the way to go.
In a comment to Dagens Industri, Saab's press officer Mattias Rådström says:
"We have taken note of the media reports and refer further questions on this matter to NATO. Saab has not signed an agreement or received an order from NATO for the Globaleye. We are convinced that the Globaleye would meet NATO's needs but have no further comments to offer at this time."
Currently, NATO has 14 E-3 Sentry aircraft, and the purchase that fell through last year involved six E-7 Wedgetail aircraft. With a price tag of approximately £210 million/€240 million per unit, this would represent (assuming the same number of Globaleye units) a deal worth £1.2 billion/€1.4 billion for the European defence industry. SAAB has the capacity to deliver four Globaleye units per year.