Saab and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the AEW&C II competitors and future home defence programmes. This transfer might form the way forward for airborne surveillance in South Korea.
The aerospace defence sectors of South Korea and Sweden are set to strengthen their partnership with a brand new settlement that goals to switch know-how and construct native capabilities.
Signed on the Korea Military Worldwide Protection Trade Exhibition (KADEX), the MoU between Saab and KAI focuses on creating and integrating Saab’s GlobalEye AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Management) system into Korea’s defence panorama.
A partnership in surveillance
The MoU is a partnership centred on Saab’s GlobalEye. Saab’s bid for South Korea’s AEW&C II competitors hinges on the GlobalEye platform.
If chosen, the partnership between Saab and KAI will rework Bombardier’s World 6500 enterprise jet into the GlobalEye AEW&C particular mission plane. This transformation will contain modifications to the airframe and aerodynamics and system set up, integration, and testing.
Notably, the settlement consists of coaching and know-how switch, enabling KAI to independently perform future upgrades, modifications, and upkeep of the GlobalEye system inside South Korea.
In South Korea’s army fixed-wing sector, AEW&C ranks third in expenditure with an funding of $427.6m over 2024–29, in accordance with GlobalData’s “South Korea Defense Market 2024-2029” report.
South Korea’s present AEW&C plane providing is Boeing’s B737, buying 4 between 2011 and 2012.
“This MoU between Saab and KAI will improve essential radar know-how competence and create home functionality and self-sustainability to safe strategic independence for the Republic of Korea within the airborne surveillance section,” stated Markus Borgljung, vp and deputy head of Enterprise Space Surveillance at Saab. “GlobalEye is the one system that provides actual know-how switch.”
Saab has lately delivered its fifth and final aircraft to the United Arab Emirates on 17 September, 2024, following an preliminary contract in November 2015. In the meantime, on 27 June, 2024, Saab finalised an settlement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for a third GlobalEye aircraft delivered between 2024 and 2029.
On 19 July, 2024, Saab reported a record order intake of Skr40bn ($3.7bn) for Q2, marking the second-highest quarterly determine within the firm’s historical past and up from Skr14.3bn ($1.3bn) in the identical interval final yr.
Constructing future particular mission plane
The partnership extends past the AEW&C II competitors, with Saab and KAI eyeing future alternatives inside the Republic of Korea. In accordance with Chongho Yoon, senior government vp and normal supervisor of Plane Program Division at KAI, the settlement might function a “stepping stone” for additional collaboration on home and worldwide particular mission plane programmes.
“Via the know-how switch, we are going to strengthen our capabilities for future impartial home analysis and growth for future Particular Mission Plane applications,” Yoon added.
KAI’s function on this partnership is to steer the modifications, testing, and integration processes for GlobalEye in South Korea.
As Saab and KAI deepen their partnership, the AEW&C II competitors represents a juncture for South Korea’s airborne surveillance.
