Carney selects Saab GlobalEye for Canada negotiations
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada has entered negotiations to buy saab’s Swedish-made GlobalEye early warning aircraft technology, choosing it over bids from Boeing and L3Harris. He announced the move Wednesday at the annual CANSEC defence trade show in Ottawa, where he said the system will be installed on Bombardier Global 6500 jets built in Canada.
CANSEC Ottawa
Carney said the selection gives Canada a surveillance aircraft based on the GlobalEye system, made by Saab, instead of the Aeris X by L3Harris or Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail. He said this was the first time a prime minister had spoken at the annual trade show.
He also said the choice reflects a broader shift in defence procurement. In April, at the Liberal Party’s convention, Carney said: “The days of our military sending 70 cents of every dollar to the United States are over.”
Saab and Bombardier
Carney said Saab and Bombardier’s work is “transforming a modern jet into a cutting-edge surveillance aircraft.” He said the GlobalEye will give the Canadian Armed Forces a key resource to detect and deter threats across the Arctic, with real-time information sharing built into the system.
The aircraft’s airborne surveillance capability can track objects and signals up to 650 kilometres away. Carney said Canada is moving ahead as it worries about hypersonic and cruise missiles from countries such as Russia and China.
Canada aerospace jobs
The prime minister said the deal will support more than 3,000 jobs in Canada’s aerospace sector. He also said at least one-third of the planned GlobalEye fleet will be produced in Canada over the next 15 years, representing at least 40 aircraft, including export orders for other countries, built by Canadian workers.
Carney acknowledged that the Bombardier 6500 aircraft are built in Canada but have about 20 per cent U.S. content. He said Canada will also build Bombardier 6500 jets for early warning and control aircraft orders from other countries as part of the Saab deal.
The negotiation now turns to contract terms, production and export work tied to the Canadian-built jets. For Canada’s armed forces, the choice locks in Saab’s system as the platform that will define the country’s airborne warning fleet for years.
