South Korea has concluded its competitive AEW&C II procurement programme, selecting L3Harris Technologies to deliver 4 advanced airborne early warning aircraft based on the Bombardier GLOBAL 6500 platform. The 3.1 trillion-won ($2.2 billion) contract marks a significant evolution in Seoul's air surveillance architecture and represents the first export of L3Harris's PHOENIX configuration, with deliveries scheduled through 2032.

The Republic of Korea Air Force initiated the AEW&C II programme in 2020 to address persistent operational challenges with its existing fleet of 4 Boeing E-737 PEACE EYE aircraft. These platforms, introduced from 2011 onward, have experienced low mission availability rates. With escalating aerial threats from North Korea and the need for comprehensive surveillance over the Korean peninsula and surrounding airspace, Seoul required additional assets capable of maintaining continuous air battle management capabilities.

The Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) structured the competition to prioritize not only technical performance but also lifecycle costs, industrial participation, and operational sustainability. This holistic evaluation framework ultimately proved decisive in determining the programme outcome.

L3Harris's winning proposal integrates Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta EL/W-2085 radar system onto the GLOBAL 6500 business jet platform. The EL/W-2085 employs a dual-band active electronically scanned array architecture, with L-band conformal antennas mounted on the aircraft's fuselage sides and S-band arrays positioned in the nose and tail, providing complete 360-degree surveillance coverage. With South Korea's recent selection, total EL/W-2085 deliveries will reach 22 aircraft across 5 operators (Israel, US, Italy, Singapore, and now South Korea), representing one of the most successful conformal AEW radar programs globally. South Korea will be the first country to use the GLOBAL 6500 instead of the Gulfstream G550.

The radar utilizes gallium nitride technology (GaN), enabling superior range, resolution, and electronic counter-countermeasure capabilities. The system can simultaneously track up to 1,000 targets at ranges extending to 450 kilometres while coordinating multiple air-to-air interceptions and air-to-surface engagements. The conformal installation methodology reduces aerodynamic drag compared to traditional rotodome configurations, preserving the GLOBAL 6500's inherent performance characteristics including 6,600-nautical-mile range and 18-hour endurance.

Korean Air will perform system integration work on the third and fourth airframes domestically and assume responsibility for in-country sustainment operations, satisfying Seoul's industrial participation requirements.

The final procurement phase featured a direct competition between L3Harris and Saab's GLOBALEYE system, with Boeing's E-7 WEDGETAIL having withdrawn earlier due to reported pricing concerns. Both finalists proposed solutions based on the same GLOBAL 6500 airframe but with fundamentally different sensor architectures - Saab's offering featured its ERIEYE Extended Range radar mounted above the fuselage.

According to DAPA's official statement, performance evaluations determined no substantial difference between the two radar systems' technical capabilities. However, L3Harris achieved superior scores in operational suitability, contribution to domestic defence industry development, and lifecycle maintenance costs. Saab's proposal offered more attractive acquisition pricing and contract terms, but L3Harris's cumulative evaluation score proved decisive.

The decision effectively cancels a November 2024 Foreign Military Sales notification for 4 additional E-7 aircraft valued at $4.9 billion, signalling Seoul's strategic pivot toward business jet-based AEW solutions.

The South Korean selection underscores the GLOBAL 6000/6500's emergence as the dominant platform for next-generation special mission applications. The aircraft's metal airframe construction, abundant electrical power generation capacity, and long-range performance have driven widespread adoption across multiple mission sets. During the Paris Air Show 2025, Bombardier Defense and Leoanardo also announced a Maritime Patrol Aicraft (MPA) variant.

Current AEW-configured orders include 5 Saab GLOBALEYE aircraft delivered to the United Arab Emirates and 3 on order for Sweden, with France recently announcing its selection of GLOBALEYE as well. Beyond AEW applications, the United States has committed to extensive Global 6000/6500 acquisitions: the Air Force has received 9 aircraft for the E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node programme, while the Army's HADES intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance initiative encompasses up to 14 Global 6500 conversions. Germany has procured 3 GLOBAL 6000 platforms for signals intelligence missions under its PEGASUS programme.

Sweden has further ordered 2 Global 6500s for VIP transport, leveraging commonality with its GLOBALEYE fleet. Combined with multiple other classified and announced programmes, special mission variants of the GLOBAL 6000/6500 family now exceed 50 committed aircraft across at least a dozen operators.

Follow us on Telegram, Facebook and X.