Poland to buy early warning aircraft from Sweden

Europe, News May 25, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that his country is in talks to finalize the purchase of early-warning aircraft from Sweden. Blaszczak did not reveal the number of aircraft or any other details about the deal.

“I wanted to say, for the first time in public, that we are very advanced in what concerns acquiring early warning aircraft from Sweden,” Blaszczak, who is also the Deputy Prime Minster of Poland, said in a statement released by the Polish Defense Ministry. “We are carrying out detailed negotiations, and I hope that, in the short term, they will be successfully concluded,” he added.

Blaszczak’s statement came during the meeting of the North Group, a defense cooperation body established by 12 European countries consisting of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. Warsaw currently holds the group’s chairmanship. Defense ministers from the North Group member states met in Legionowo, Poland, on May 22.

Although Blaszczak did not disclose the number of units of the type of aircraft that his country is looking to buy, it is highly expected that Poland would purchase GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft from Sweden.

eSince Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Warsaw has ramped up its military procurement while supplying crucial weapons to Ukraine for its defense. The Polish government has raised defense spending to first 3% and then 4% of GDP, the highest relative level for any NATO member state. Poland has also made deals with the United States and South Korea to acquire new tanks, missiles, and fighter jets.

*^{Saab GlobalEye Swing Role Surveillance System aircraft. (Image Credit: Saab)}*

Poland also has been one of the most vocal European countries against the Russian invasion, urging other Western allies to send weapons to Ukraine. Poland was the first country to pledge Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine. As soon as Germany allowed European states to send German-made tanks to Ukraine, Poland announced the delivery of the tanks.

GlobalEye surveillance aircraft

Saab’s GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft is based on the Bombardier Global 6000 business jet. It is equipped with Swedish-made Saab Erieye Extended Range Radar which has a range of more than 550 kilometers. The jet is significantly smaller in size compared to the U.S.-made E-7 AEW&C, which is based on the Boeing 737-700 series aircraft.

Swedish and Finnish air forces are the two most prominent users of the GlobalEye surveillance jets in Europe while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the only country outside Europe to operate the aircraft. UAE currently operates three of these AEW&C aircraft while two additional units are scheduled to be delivered by 2025.