“It is about air power, which is essential to strengthen our deterrence and defense,” Rutte said.<\/p>\n
The MRTT project has nine A330s, which can double as troop or passenger aircraft, based at Eindhoven, Netherlands. By adding another tanker, the \u2060military \u2060alliance will move closer to plugging gaps left in its defense plans after the United States reduced its contributions.<\/p>\n
NATO is seeking to expand the fleet to 12 in the longer run. Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden participate in the program.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has not publicly disclosed details of its cuts, but they range from refueling aircraft to fighters, drones and ships, according to figures provided by \u2060a military source.<\/p>\n
Airbus, which builds both the A400M airlifter and the A330 jet \u200bon which the tanker is based, said the shared A400M fleet would involve \u200bBelgium, Britain, France, Spain, T\u00fcrkiye, Croatia and Poland.<\/p>\n
The announcement is a boost for the A400M, which was designed to meet a European \u2060shortfall in \u200cmilitary cargo \u200cand troop transport to rugged areas. Exports have been \u2060slow to materialize, leaving doubts over their long-term future.<\/p>\n
Airbus earlier this year toned down earlier warnings to investors over the long-term future \u200bof A400M production.<\/p>\n
The new pool \u2060would initially be drawn from aircraft already in operation \u2060and then others in the industrial pipeline. Finally, a spokesperson said, the \u2060operation may eventually \u200blead to new orders, though it was premature to speculate on how many or when.<\/p>\n
Saab beats US rival<\/p>\n
NATO also announced a roughly $4.5 billion plan \u2060to buy up to \u206010 Saab GlobalEye surveillance planes to replace ageing AWACS early warning aircraft, backing a Swedish system over a rival solution from U.S. planemaker Boeing.<\/p>\n
Secretary-General Rutte \u200bsaid the replacement of Cold War-era Airborne Warning and Control \u200bSystem (AWACS) planes, \u2060best known for their rotating radomes, with a new system based on smaller business jets would tackle threats like drone swarms.<\/p>\n
“This will ensure we keep NATO’s … surveillance and early warning capability strong and credible for decades to come,” he said.<\/p>\n
With U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly pressing allies to spend more on defense and buy more U.S. equipment, Rutte took pains to underline the international pedigree of the system, which is mounted on top of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets.<\/p>\n
“Like its predecessor, GlobalEye is a transatlantic program, delivered by European and Canadian industries with essential \u2060contributions \u2060from U.S. industries. It is a real success story, again, made in NATO,” he told delegates.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies for relying on the U.S. for their security, while pressing them to buy more U.S. weapons. He has also threatened at times to quit NATO.<\/p>\n
GlobalEye competes with Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, an early warning and command-and-control aircraft based on the 737 jetliner and designed to oversee and direct battle.<\/p>\n
NATO said GlobalEye was a mission-proven system but did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
Saab’s shares rose by nearly 4% on Tuesday, outperforming the European aerospace and defense index that edged lower.<\/p>\n
Deliveries from 2030<\/p>\n
Reuters reported Thursday that NATO would replace its Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS jets with Saab’s Swedish GlobalEye.<\/p>\n
Technically, \u200bNATO is now entering into formal negotiations with Saab after making its provisional selection public.<\/p>\n
Saab \u200bCEO Micael Johansson valued the purchase at up to $4.5 billion and told reporters that the Swedish group would be able to start deliveries in 2030 if \u2060a deal \u200cwere signed \u200csoon.<\/p>\n
He added that the final price had not been \u2060agreed but that it would be between roughly $400 million \u200cand $450 million per aircraft.<\/p>\n
The final number of aircraft had been unclear as planners debated whether to order a \u200bmore expensive version capable of mid-air \u2060refueling.<\/p>\n
A person familiar with the matter said the GlobalEyes would not \u2060initially have this capability but that it was expected to be added in a \u2060later update.<\/p>\n
The current AWACS \u200bfleet can be refuelled in flight, a capability that has proved valuable for missions near Ukraine.<\/p>\n
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