Swedish Saab announced on Monday that it has received a highly anticipated order worth $1 billion, with the United Arab Emirates purchasing two additional GlobalEye intelligence fighter jets. This contract is an extension of the 2015 agreement, in which the country committed to producing the first batch of three GlobalEye aircraft consisting of 6000 Bombardier global business jets, equipped with Saab's Erieye remote radar and other monitoring aircraft Hall sensors. This arrangement includes the option to make two additional purchases, which is currently being implemented.

Saab CEO Michael Johansson said in a statement, "We are proud that the UAE continues to show great trust in Saab and our solutions. This indicates that Saab is still in a leading position in advanced technology. The Global Eye Program is proceeding as planned, and we have effectively collaborated with our customers

Saab expects that the development of these two new aircraft will be completed by 2025, and will be used in Gothenburg, Link ö ping, Aboga, Jelfala, and Lule in Sweden, as well as Centurion in South Africa.

Saab stated that the contract was signed on December 30th, which means Saab can record it on its 2020 balance sheet. The UAE military received its first GlobalEye aircraft from the 2015 agreement in the spring of 2020, when the coronavirus crisis was just beginning to sweep across the globe. The global 6000 series business jets and VIP jets remain popular platforms for intelligence gathering and early warning. A year ago, the German government abandoned its plan to purchase the US Navy's Triton drones for signal intelligence collection and instead chose to install necessary aircraft sensor equipment on these manned aircraft.