At the NATO Summit Defence Forum, the governments of Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, launched a High Visibility Project for the Airbus A400M. This multinational initiative builds on the success of the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF). It is designed to address strategic airlift capability gaps among European allies, with the eventual establishment of a Multinational Fleet centred on the Airbus A400M military aircraft.
Built upon a ‘pooling and sharing’ strategy, this initiative envisions different stages of cooperation among participating nations, ranging from a multinationally owned and operated A400M fleet to related services such as maintenance, training support, infrastructure and procurement. The goal is to create an end-to-end solution that more effectively fulfills national and NATO requirements, while offering greater operational flexibility in specific capabilities including air-to-air refuelling, disaster relief, medical evacuation and firefighting.
“The selection of the A400M for this multinational fleet underlines its key strategic airlift capabilities. With more than 135 aircraft in operation and more than 270,000 flight hours achieved by the global fleet, the A400M has become the backbone of Air Mobility for the largest European NATO countries, and with its future capability roadmap, its role will become even more essential for decades to come,“ said Ben Bridge, Chairman Airbus Defence and Space UK.
This A400M multinational initiative is inspired by the success of the MMF, which from 2020 operates the Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, the most capable and combat-proven strategic tanker available. This successful programme provides nations the exclusive right to operate NATO-owned Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft in a pooling arrangement, delivering commonality, cost efficiency and interoperability on both sides of the Atlantic. It remains a prime example of European operational defence collaboration.
Alongside the A400M agreement, NATO has officially announced the incorporation of Finland as a new member of the Multinational MRTT Fleet, expanding the base of participating nations and reinforcing European sovereignty in critical defence capabilities. The MMF programme now comprises nine participating nations: the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Czechia, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
With nine A330 MRTTs in operation from a total order of 12 aircraft, the MMF unit has already deployed to NATO’s Eastern Flank, supported civilian and refugee evacuations in Afghanistan, and participated in multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific region.
NATO selects Saab’s GlobalEye
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that NATO will begin formal negotiations with Saab regarding the acquisition of up to ten GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) systems. At this point, Saab has not signed a contract or received an order related to the announcement. Saab will now proceed to formal negotiations with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to secure a contract.
NATO has identified the need to replace its existing AEW&C capability as part of a broader effort to modernise and strengthen the Alliance’s surveillance and situational awareness capabilities. The announcement by the NATO Secretary General confirms that Saab’s GlobalEye is NATO’s chosen solution for its future AEW&C capability.
“We are honoured and proud to support NATO in its next-generation AEW&C capability. We are confident that GlobalEye is the right choice for the Alliance, delivering proven capability, adaptability and long-term operational advantage. Today’s announcement clearly positions GlobalEye as the world-leading solution for advanced airborne early warning and control. We look forward to the next steps in the negotiations,” says Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab.
GlobalEye will enable the Alliance to monitor vast areas of land, sea and air, significantly enhancing NATO’s ability to detect and respond to a wide range of threats. GlobalEye combines Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar with an advanced suite of sensors and a multi-domain Command and Control (C2) system, on a Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft. As an AEW&C system, GlobalEye provides long-range detection with high update rates, capable of identifying low-observable and stealthy threats, as well as drones, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, even in complex environments characterised by heavy clutter and electronic jamming.
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