**JUST IN: France Moves Toward Saab’s GlobalEye After Uncertainty Around NATO’s E-7 Program ✈️**

Paris / Stockholm / Brussels – 17 February 2026

In a development that has rattled defence planners in Washington and London, France has quietly signalled it is preparing to abandon its long-standing commitment to the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail as NATO’s future fixed-wing AEW&C platform and is now seriously evaluating Saab’s GlobalEye system as its national and alliance-level replacement option.

The shift — confirmed this morning through a combination of high-level briefings to the French Senate Defence Committee and leaked procurement documents obtained by La Tribune and Reuters — comes after months of mounting delays, cost overruns and capability concerns surrounding the E-7 programme. French officials have told parliamentarians that “the operational maturity timeline for the E-7 no longer aligns with France’s urgent need to retire its ageing E-3F fleet by the early 2030s.”

Key points raised in the classified briefing include:

– Boeing’s repeated slippage of the E-7’s initial operational capability (IOC) date — now pushed from 2027 to at least 2031 in the most recent programme baseline
– A 38% cost escalation on the UK’s three-aircraft E-7 order (from £1.98 billion to £2.73 billion) and similar upward pressure on the Australian and South Korean programmes
– Persistent integration challenges between the Wedgetail’s MESA radar and European-standard datalinks, electronic-warfare suites and NATO-standard IFF systems
– Growing anxiety that the E-7 fleet will not achieve full NATO interoperability until the mid-2030s, leaving a dangerous capability gap as E-3 Sentry airframes reach the end of their service lives

By contrast, Saab’s GlobalEye — already operational with the UAE (5 aircraft), Sweden (2+2 on order) and Norway (3 ordered) — is being presented as a lower-risk, faster-to-field alternative. The platform uses the Bombardier Global 6500 airframe, the Erieye Extended Range AESA radar, and a comprehensive suite of maritime and ground-surveillance sensors. It has demonstrated full NATO Link 16 compatibility, has flown more than 12,000 operational hours, and can be delivered in under 36 months from contract signature.

French defence procurement agency DGA has already requested pricing and delivery data for an initial batch of 4–6 GlobalEye aircraft, with options for up to 12. Saab sources indicate that a firm offer could be on the table within 60 days if France moves forward.

The potential French pivot is especially significant because Paris has long been one of the most vocal advocates for the E-7 within NATO. France co-financed early risk-reduction studies with the UK and has repeatedly described the Wedgetail as “the only credible path to a common NATO AEW&C capability post-E-3.”

That support now appears to be evaporating. A senior French defence official told La Tribune on condition of anonymity:

“We cannot accept a ten-year gap in airborne early warning. GlobalEye is flying today, certified, and proven in high-threat environments. The E-7 is still a PowerPoint in many respects. We must protect French and European sovereignty in strategic capabilities.”

The UK Ministry of Defence — which has already committed to three E-7s with deliveries starting in 2029 — declined to comment on the French move but is understood to be “monitoring developments closely.” Boeing issued a brief statement: “We remain fully confident in the E-7 programme and its ability to meet NATO’s future requirements. We continue to work closely with all customers.”

The news has sent shockwaves through NATO headquarters. Secretary General Mark Rutte has called an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council’s Military Committee for next week to discuss “the implications of diverging AEW&C fleets.” Eastern European members — Poland, Romania, the Baltics — are reportedly “alarmed” by the signal that two major NATO partners may end up operating different platforms.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social at 14:19 ET:

“France is dumping our beautiful E-7 for Swedish planes! Weak! Globalist! They’re laughing at us! We protect them, we pay for NATO, and now they’re building with the Swedes and Brits? Time to make them PAY — 50% tariffs on EVERYTHING until they come back to America!!!”

The post has been viewed more than 94 million times but has drawn sharp pushback from U.S. defence-industry executives and congressional Republicans from Boeing-heavy districts. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called the move “a serious blow to American jobs and alliance unity,” while Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) urged the Pentagon to “immediately reassess technology-sharing restrictions” that may have pushed France toward alternative platforms.

The UK’s recent £4.2 billion commitment to Canada’s Northern Sovereignty Resilience Fund — announced last week — now appears even more strategic. British funding will support joint development of cold-weather avionics and sensors compatible with both Gripen/GlobalEye and Typhoon fleets, effectively creating a transatlantic European-North American defence-industrial axis that reduces vulnerability to U.S. policy volatility.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called an emergency North Atlantic Council meeting for tomorrow to discuss “the implications of diverging fighter and AEW&C fleets.” Eastern European members — Poland, Romania, the Baltics — are said to be “alarmed” by the signal that two core NATO partners are accelerating alternative supply chains.

For Mark Carney — the former central banker who became Canadian prime minister in late 2025 — the French interest is a major diplomatic and industrial win. By securing both Saab and UK commitments, Ottawa has positioned Canada as a key player in European defence diversification while insulating its aerospace sector from U.S. tariff threats.

As emergency consultations begin in Washington, Ottawa, London, Paris and Brussels, the world is watching to see whether this is a temporary fracture or the beginning of a permanent realignment in transatlantic defence-industrial cooperation.

The next 72 hours will show whether diplomacy can contain the damage — or whether a single aircraft-selection decision in Toronto becomes the catalyst for a much larger strategic unraveling.