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North American appetite for European AEW&C aircraft bolstered as Canada picks GlobalEye

3rd June 2026 - 14:40 GMT | by Lucy Powell in London, UK

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The Canadian government has revealed plans to acquire Saab’s GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft. (Photo: Saab)

Canada’s selection of Saab’s GlobalEye to fulfil its airborne early warning requirements draws the country closer to European industry over American-made platforms, snubbing Boeing and L3Harris.

The competition and appetite for airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in North America has increased in the past week, with Canada officially selecting Saab’s GlobalEye platform as its preferred supplier after the US U-turned earlier this month on its AEW&C selection of Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail.

On 27 May, Canada’s Defence Investment Agency confirmed it would enter discussions with Saab as its preferred AEW&C capability supplier – seeming to finalise a much sought-after programme requirement and side-lining competitors L3Harris and Boeing.

On the same day, Saab and CAE also announced the expansion of their partnership to support the Canadian AEW&C programme, signing a teaming

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Lucy Powell

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Lucy Powell


Lucy Powell is Shephard’s Air Reporter. An award-winning journalist with over four years in …

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