Wedgetail vs GlobalEye vs Dassault AEW Concept vs U.S. Alternatives

A comparative assessment of NATO’s AWACS options must begin with the four principal families of airborne early warning and control systems now under consideration by European governments. The Boeing E-7A Wedgetail represents the most mature and widely deployed Western AEW&C platform, operating with Australia, South Korea, Turkey and soon the United Kingdom. It is based on the Boeing 737NG, equipped with the Northrop Grumman MESA electronically scanned radar providing full 360-degree coverage and a detection range exceeding 600 kilometers. It supports in-flight refueling and can host a large mission crew with extensive command-and-control functions. Saab’s GlobalEye, by contrast, is built on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 long-range business jet and integrates the Erieye ER S-band AESA radar, a separate maritime surveillance radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and a fully networked mission system. The Dassault proposal, still at concept stage, is based on the Falcon 10X ultra-long-range business jet, designed for very long endurance and high-altitude operations, and envisioned as a platform for a future European AEW&C capability. U.S. alternatives include the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a carrier-borne turboprop equipped with the APY-9 UHF AESA radar, and various AEW&C configurations based on the Bombardier Global 6500 proposed by L3Harris and recently ordered by South Korea.