Poland in advanced talks for GlobalEye early warning aircraft

Poland is to acquire the Saab GlobalEye, giving the country an airborne early warning and control capability for the first time. (Saab)

Poland is in advanced negotiations with Sweden to acquire the Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for the country's armed forces.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, made the disclosure on 22 May, saying he expects a contract to be finalised in the short term.

“I wanted to say publicly for the first time that we are very advanced in obtaining early warning aircraft from Sweden. We are already conducting detailed negotiations. I hope they will be successful in a short time,” Błaszczak said during a meeting of Northern Group NATO members. “In this way, we strengthen the resilience of Poland, but also of the entire eastern flank of the [NATO] alliance,” he added.

Poland does not currently field an AEW&C capability, relying instead on the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force (NAEWF), and the Boeing E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft of the E-3A Component.

While the minister did not disclose numbers, for a niche high-end capability such as AEW&C Poland could be expected to acquire between two and six (inclusive) airframes.