Planned Erieye roll-out paves way for 2009 delivery
Robert Hewson, Editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons
Key Points
• Delivery of the first Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C to Pakistan is on track for 2009, says Saab
• The Pakistani programme is to be followed by Erieye aircraft for Thailand, while further customers are in prospect
Saab Surveillance Systems intends to roll out the first Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on 26 March.
The aircraft continues to be equipped with its full suite of mission systems and will fly later this year. It will serve as the test and evaluation platform for Pakistan's planned fleet of five Saab 2000 Erieyes.
The March roll-out will be conducted with customer representatives at Saab's main Linköping facility, but there will not be a delivery ceremony. With first flight, airborne testing and further development work still to come, Saab says that it is on track to deliver the first aircraft by the end of 2009 in line with its 2007 contract. Prior to the formal handover to the PAF the aircraft is likely to be transferred to Pakistan to conduct systems acceptance testing there.
The Saab 2000 AEW&C has been specially developed to a PAF requirement and marks the first time the Erieye active electronically scanned antenna (AESA) radar has been mated with the Saab 2000 airframe.
Pakistan's Saab 2000s are former airline aircraft recovered from their leases by Saab and extensively modified for their new military role. Each aircraft will be fitted with operator stations for between five and seven onboard personnel. The Saab 2000 AEW&C can also serve as part of a distributed AEW network by datalinking radar data directly to command-and-control networks on the ground. Pakistan's aircraft will be fitted with electronic surveillance/support systems for additional intelligence gathering and a full set of defensive aids.
In 2005 Saab and Ericsson announced that Pakistan intended to acquire Saab 2000 Erieye systems and an SEK8.3 billion (USD1 billion) contract was given the go-ahead in July 2006. The number of aircraft involved was never confirmed by the company but Jane's sources noted that it was six. By mid-2006 Saab had full control of the programme with its takeover of Erieye radar builder Ericsson Microwave Systems (now Saab Microwave Systems).
In May 2007 a renegotiation of the Pakistan AEW contract was announced, with a budget cut of SEK1.35 billion. As a result, the number of aircraft to be acquired is believed to have been reduced to five. Pakistan's contract includes airborne and ground-based systems plus logistics and product support.
Within Saab attention is now turning to the Erieye aircraft for Thailand ordered earlier this year. The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) plans to acquire two former Swedish Air Force S 100B Erieye aircraft, based on the Saab 340 airframe, beginning in 2011. The RTAF aircraft will be equipped with onboard operator stations allowing them to be used as both autonomous and networked platforms. Saab reported that it is also pursuing continuing interest in the Erieye surveillance system from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.