北约冷落波音公司，选择萨博制造联盟的下一代雷达飞机

NATO allies plan to buy 10 of Saab’s GlobalEye aircraft as the alliance’s next-generation radar plane, snubbing Boeing and its E-7 Wedgetail offering, officials announced on Tuesday.

The alliance would replace its Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control aircraft with the Swedish company’s offering, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during the alliance’s Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, Turkey.

“For decades, NATO has relied on a fleet of E3 Airborne Warning and Control Systems, that have been our ‘eyes in the skies’. They have been deployed from Northern Norway to Southern Türkiye. They have served us well and continue to do so, but they are reaching the end of their lives,” Rutte said. “Today, several Allies are announcing the joint procurement of up to 10 SAAB GlobalEye aircraft to replace them.”

Saab CEO Micael Johansson told reporters at the summit that he estimated the deal would be valued around $4.5 billion and that deliveries could begin in 2030, depending on when the deal is signed.

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, and Sweden are joining together to procure Saab’s aircraft, NATO said in a press release.

Their choice was influenced by the Pentagon’s decision—later reversed—to request no money for E-7s in the 2027 budget, one analyst said..

“When the U.S. ‘27 budget came out, and there was no money for E-7, and NATO looked at that and said, ‘Well, if the U.S. isn't buying it, why should we?,’ and they made an announcement right then that because the administration was not behind E-7 they did not expect to be favoring

it.” said J.J. Gertler, an aerospace analyst for the Teal Group. “That was both a matter of timing when the administration decided actually to buy E-7 later, but also something of an own goal.”

That “leaning toward Saab” announcement was reported in April, just days after the Pentagon’s budget rollout showed no plans to fund the E-7 Wedgetail, by La Lettre, a French publication.