Saab presented Sweden’s first S 106 GlobalEye airborne early-warning and control aircraft for the Swedish Air Force on Thursday, 15 October 2026, at its Linköping plant. Chief executive Micael Johansson said it was “very important” to deliver the capability to Sweden. Defence minister Pål Jonson (Moderates) attended the rollout.

The aircraft works as a flying radar and command post: it watches large areas in the air, at sea and on the ground in high detail so threats can be spotted in time. The Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered two GlobalEye systems in 2022 and a third in 2024.

Jonson said the timetable is earlier than the December 2024 defence decision, which had put GlobalEye in 2030. Air Force chief Major General Jonas Wikman said he wants the machine in the air “as soon as possible”. Flight tests come next; delivery to the Armed Forces is planned for 2027.

In the Armed Forces’ own note, Wikman described S 106 as a multi-domain step that also strengthens NATO’s collective defence. Sweden would, according to the same note, be the first Alliance nation to operate Saab’s GlobalEye. A deeper partnership with the Netherlands has been announced to develop and use the capability together.

S 106 is based on the Bombardier Global 6000, the same type as the Air Force’s new state aircraft, TP 106. The idea, SVT writes, is to coordinate training, technical maintenance and spare parts. Saab confirmed the aircraft now enters testing and verification before first flight and delivery.

Sveriges Radio reported from the same presentation that the aircraft is flown by two pilots and five operators and that the radar can detect objects about 430 kilometres away at more than 11 kilometres altitude. Crew size and range figures come from that press coverage, not from a Saab technical bulletin quoted here.

The rollout is a production milestone, not immediate entry into service. Until the 2027 delivery the programme remains in trials. This article is not an investment or operational-performance assessment.

Image: Nick, Saab GlobalEye AEW&C, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons; same aircraft type, not the official Swedish rollout photograph of 15 October 2026.

Sources consulted: Saab har „rullat ut” Sveriges första S 106 GlobalEye — SVT; Saab presents first GlobalEye for Sweden — Saab.