In April and May 2018, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) took delivery of numerous items from Saab AB, notably radar equipment from Saab’s Surveillance Headquarters in Gothenburg/Göteborg and a bevy of additional secured equipment from the Swedish defence giant. Considering that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) placed an order for three additional Saab 2000-based Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in May 2017, it is possible that Saab’s deliveries this year indicate the implementation phase of this order.
The deliveries can be examined from the following open-source export-import (EXIM) registries:
Background on the Pakistan Erieye AEW&C Program
In 2006, Pakistan had agreed to procure six Saab 2000-based Erieye AEW&C aircraft from Saab along with a baseline Saab 2000 (i.e. seven aircraft) for a total of $1.15 billion US. However, to reallocate resources for the reconstruction effort in Kashmir (following the earthquake of 2005), the PAF trimmed its order to four Erieye AEW&C and one baseline Saab 2000 (i.e. five aircraft). Although the PAF received and inducted these aircraft, an attack on Minhas Air Base in 2012 rendered three of the four aircraft inoperable.
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