SAAB 340 AEW

The first Saab 340 Erieye AEW, Airborne Early Warning, for Thailand completed its maiden flight together with the first Royal Thai Air Force Gripen on November 13.

The Saab 340 Erieye AEW flight took two hours and 14 minutes and was executed by Magnus Fredriksson and Åke Wargh from Saab.

"The flight went as expected and we tested all the basic aircraft systems. We now look forward to continuing the tests in order to then be able to deliver the aircraft to Thailand," says Magnus Fredriksson.

A complete aircraft and command and control system

In 2008, Thailand ordered a complete aircraft and command and control system from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in a Government to Government deal. The order includes six Gripen C/D with associated equipment and service, a Saab 340 AEW equipped with Erieye radar and data links, one Saab 340 aircraft for transport and training plus a command and control system with data links.

During November and in the spring further flights will be realized, interoperability trials will be carried out along with the other elements of the Thailand order.

Saab has announced receipt of a roughly SKr1.5 billion ($218 million) contract to supply the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence with two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-based airborne early warning and control system aircraft.
Announced on 17 November, the sale of the Saab Microwave Systems Erieye radar-equipped turboprops followed reports at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that the UAE was poised to order a gap-filler surveillance capability while it looks to conduct longer-term assessments on larger designs, such as one based on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] airliner.
"The [Saab 340] system will provide a detailed situational picture that can be used in conjunction with, for example, border control and rescue operations," says Saab. Its contract also covers the provision of associated ground equipment and logistics support.
Saab chief executive Åke Svensson says the company's contract follows "several years" of discussions over the supply of airborne surveillance equipment. It also follows other good news for the manufacturer, which late last week performed the first flight of a Saab 340-based AEW aircraft for export buyer Thailand.
The Erieye radar has previously been integrated onto the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] EMB-145 regional airliner for customers including Brazil and Greece, and is undergoing final system testing aboard a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] turboprop for launch customer the Pakistan air force.

The Pakistan air force has taken delivery of the first of its four Saab 2000-based airborne early warning and control aircraft from Sweden.
Islamabad became the first military customer for a Saab 2000 derivative when it signed a deal for the Saab Microwave Systems Erieye radar-equipped type in June 2006. Its first example made its flight debut from Saab's Linköping site in mid-2008.
"The aircraft landed at one of the Pakistan air force's main operating bases, marking a major milestone in the overall modernisation plan," says the service.
"Besides detection of high- and medium-altitude flying aircraft, this state-of-the-art system is also capable of detecting low-level flying objects over land and sea at extended ranges [and] of picking even the surface targets over the sea," says the air force.
The service says the type will enable it "to boost its operational capability manifold by achieving requisite early warning for efficient and meaningful air defence of its airspace".
The aircraft enters service after extensive testing to ensure its capability matches Pakistan's requirements. This includes demonstrating the capabilities of its integrated self-protection equipment in Sweden, including the release of flares intended to protect the modified regional turboprop against missile attack.
Within Pakistan, Saab and the air force have been conducting tests of the aircraft, radar, command and control system, communications and live situation picture into the service's command and control ground system.
Saab has previously said the AEW configuration developed for Pakistan includes five on-board operator stations, with the surveillance aircraft to have an operating ceiling of over 30,000ft (9,150m) and a mission endurance approaching 10h.
The Swedish manufacturer is promoting the AEW version of its Saab 2000 to other potential customers, and is offering to supply further variants of the type configured for tasks such as maritime patrol and signals intelligence.