AEW&Canadian
A step toward military diversification
Canada is negotiating a contract to buy Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft from Bombardier and Saab. Known as GlobalEye, the Saab AEW&C system operates on a Bombardier 6500 jet and is already in service. The decision was announced by Prime Minister Carney at CANSEC this morning.
AEW&C was an important test case for the Carney government's policy of pivoting away from American military capability. The two other competitors for AEW&C were the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail and an L3Harris AEW&C system that could have used the Bombardier 6500. In choosing GlobalEye, the government avoided splitting the difference by retaining the Bombardier platform, but developing the capability with an American prime with a large presence in Canada. As importantly, going with GlobalEye cements Canada's relationship with Saab and Sweden, a new NATO ally that has been keen to deepen its partnerships with the CAF and Canadian defence industry.
As I noted last year in Policy Magazine, picking GlobalEye was the obvious choice for the government. The capability was already in service, and it was an evident way to boost Canadian cooperation with a European ally.
The CAF, however, would have preferred the E-7. Originally developed for Australia, the Boeing capability has faced a lot of challenges, including an attempt by the Pentagon to cancel the program and a NATO decision not to use the E-7 as their next AEW&C platform. Nonetheless, acquiring the E-7 would have enhanced the CAF’s interoperability and interchangeability with the United States military, the Australian Defence Force, and the British armed forces, who have also acquired a small number of E-7s. The E-7 also operates on the same airframe as Canada’s recently acquired P8-A airframe, the Boeing 737 Next Generation, which would have enhanced interchangeability within the CAF. Rumour has it that the E-7 better met the CAF’s requirements for the AEW&C capability as well, notably because the E-7 has an air-to-air refuelling ability, whereas this is still in development with the Bombardier 6500.
Saab, however, offered an opportunity that was clearly aligned with the Carney government’s diversification policy and Defence Industrial Strategy. Notably, as part of this deal, the Prime Minister indicated that up to 40 GlobalEye platforms may be built in Canada. Saab may have a large slate of Global Eye orders to fill, and it made a lot of sense to partner with Canada to do some of the work here. Since the recently announced Challenger replacement will see Canada buying Bombardier 6500s, the intra-CAF interchangeability argument worked in GlobalEye’s favour, too.
The decision to acquire the GlobalEye raises the obvious question: does this mean that Canada will acquire the Saab Gripen, too? I’m not sure. The longer the government takes to conclude the F-35 review, the more likely it is that Canada is sticking with a large F-35 order. Canada’s CF-18s are nearing the end of their lives; they need to be replaced ASAP. If the government intends to go with a mixed fleet of F-35s and Gripens to replace the CF-18, it needs to move on that soon. In the absence of any hints that the government is considering a mixed-fleet, I’m assuming that the plan is still to buy 88 F-35s. Indeed, if the government was determined to buy Gripens, I would have expected them to make the announcement alongside this AEW&C decision.
Only time will tell, though.
I’d bet we end up with a mixed fleet, especially with the criteria laid out for ITB credits/preferences and the announcement of GlobalEye.
A mixed fleet will provide numerous benefits - military capability and industrial.
The ‘training hill’ is overstated and based on fully in Canada solutions which the F35 training is not (F35 Training unit at Luke AFB Az).
The GlobalEye has the opportunity to leverage SWE/FR/NATO training pipelines which could credibly happen.
The Gripen may also initially leverage SWE training pipeline and become a credible path to augmenting it by leveraging Canada’s training strength in a NFTC like arrangement (using lessons learned) for the potential multinational crowd of future Gripen users (UKR and others).
Time will tell, but GlobalEye is a solid choice.
I agree with your assessment. The GlobalEye isn’t an orphan platform as the RCAF is also getting the 6500 to replace the Challenger. There’s a chance it could pop up as ISR and EW platforms as well. Meanwhile, we will have interoperability with the NATO fleet, and the USAF may yet cancel the E-7 if they can convince some Congress reps. But we may need more, to ensure 24/7 patrols at the 4 corners of our coasts, 2 in the Arctic, BC and east coast. That would require a fleet of 12.