Lithuania and 10 other NATO members are planning to buy up to 10 Saab GlobalEye aircraft, as part of a joint effort to modernise the alliance's airborne surveillance capabilities.
Lithuania's defence ministry said the aircraft would eventually replace NATO's ageing fleet of E-3A planes, which are fitted with the AWACs (Airborne Warning and Control System) radar system and have long served as the alliance's "eyes in the sky".
Officials say GlobalEye will take over this role in the coming decades, giving NATO improved intelligence, surveillance and control capabilities.
Lithuania's acting defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, said the Baltic region relied heavily on this kind of monitoring, noting that around a fifth of AWACs missions last year were focused on the area. He said boosting the alliance's surveillance capacity would "directly increase" security along NATO's eastern flank.
Kaunas added that the project showed allies were not simply relying on shared NATO assets, but were actively investing in their development and taking on more responsibility for collective defence.
The GlobalEye, made by Swedish firm Saab, is a battle-tested surveillance aircraft capable of detecting and tracking complex threats, including drone swarms, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. It can monitor airspace, sea and land from high altitude, and can also function as a communications relay.
Lithuania's defence ministry described the capability as strategically important, saying it would allow for faster threat detection, sharper situational awareness and better coordination of allied forces in a crisis or conflict.
Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Canada and Latvia have also signed up to the joint procurement scheme, with several other European countries reportedly considering joining.
The project is expected to cost around €5bn in total, with the first aircraft due to be delivered in 2030 or 2031.
Lithuania's ministry stressed that the initiative remained transatlantic in nature, with European allies and Canada playing a leading role alongside expected input from American industry.
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