Poland made an essential investment in air and land forces. This time its new target is increasing its early warning capacity. As a NATO ally, Poland benefits from the ability available but prefers having its own system. Warsaw wants a single platform that provides real-time long-range air, sea, and land surveillance. This was revealed on 22 May 2023 on the sidelines of the North Group meeting in Legionowo. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said discussions were underway to buy an early warning aircraft made in Sweden. The targeted aircraft is the GlobalEye, based on the Global 6000 business jet.
The aircraft is equipped with the Erieye ER long-range radar and SeaSpray active antenna radar. The collected data is combined into a multi-domain command and control (C2) system.
Poland’s choice is not a surprise because GlobalEye is the next candidate for NATO’s Future Alliance Surveillance and Control Capability (AFSC ) program, where 14 Boeing E-3 AWACS units from NATO Air Force Early Warning and Control (NAEW&C) will be replaced with new capacity. GlobalEye will compete with the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail.
