Saab’s GlobalEye Configuration

Saab, the Swedish automobile company, has recently signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates in November at the Dubai Air Show. This deal is worth $1.27 billion, as Saab will be responsible for heavily adapting the Global 6000 business jet in order to be capable of conducting land and maritime surveillance, electronic intelligence duties, as well as airborne early warning and control, or AEW&C. Saab has already began work in order to modify a couple of Bombardier Global 6000 business jets into its swing-role GlobalEye configuration for the United Arab Emirates, its lead customer.

“We are building as we speak,” said Håkan Buskhe, the chief executive from Saab. “It’s full speed ahead in our workshop.”

“The aircraft is already in Linköping, and we are integrating our systems on it,”

said the head of Saab’s surveillance business area, Micael Johansson.

“There is a lot of interest around this platform and its capabilities from many countries – some in Asia, some elsewhere.”

Johansson has suggested that the launch order from the United Arab Emirates has sparked an increased amount of interest in Saab’s new offering. Modifications will be made in the dorsal unit above the fuselage in the Global 6000 business jet in order to install Saab’s Erieye ER active electronically scanned array radar.

“It looks the same, but it’s very much all new on the inside, including all the signal processing,”

Johansson added.

“We have fantastic range on this radar: it’s almost horizon-limited in terms of how far it can see.”

In comparison to previous sensors, the Erieye ER provides for 70 percent greater detection range, increasing its ability to detect challenging targets such as small unmanned air vehicles, cruise missiles, as well as hovering helicopters. Combining its electro-optical/infrared sensor and its below-fuselage mounted maritime search radar will allow the aircraft operator to locate submarine periscopes and surface threats. Land targets will be located through the use of its ground moving target indication modes and primary sensor’s synthetic aperture radar.

“Command and control tasks can be performed using an onboard crew of between five and seven operators and the aircraft will also feature voice and satellite communications equipment and a Link 16 data link to network with other airborne, ground and maritime assets,”

said Craig Hoyle from Flightglobal.

“Saab cites a maximum mission endurance of 11h for the GlobalEye.”

“This is a complete system for all dimensions,” added Johansson.

1. john parker
2. Posted on July 11, 2016
aviation news

Related Blogs