Overview
- Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at CANSEC that Canada has named Saab the preferred supplier and entered formal negotiations on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, for a future airborne early warning and control capability.
- Officials stressed the engagement is for detailed assessment and negotiations only and does not yet constitute a signed procurement contract or order.
- Saab’s GlobalEye proposal uses Bombardier’s Canadian-made Global 6500 airframe and includes offers for in-Canada modification, maintenance, training, research and technology transfer.
- The government says the plan targets roughly six aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force to strengthen long-range detection, NORAD contributions and Arctic monitoring, with sensors that can detect targets hundreds of kilometres away.
- Ottawa frames the selection as part of a wider defence-industrial strategy to create about 3,000 jobs, manufacture at least one-third of the fleet in Canada over 15 years, and diversify suppliers away from U.S. options while further commercial, technical and economic work proceeds.