The next chapter of AEW&C

Recent conflicts have demonstrated how significantly the threat landscape has changed. While AEW&C systems have traditionally focused on detecting, tracking, and managing aircraft such as fighter jets, today's operational environment is far more complex.

Modern forces are facing a growing variety of threats, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and the full spectrum of unmanned systems, ranging from small drones to long-range platforms and coordinated drone swarms. At the same time, many of these threats are becoming increasingly difficult to detect compared to yesterday’s targets. Cruise missiles may fly at very low altitude, while smaller drones may present only a limited radar signature and operate in large numbers. Fast threats such as hypersonic or ballistic missiles, provide challenging timelines for counter effects.

For AEW&C systems, the challenge remains fundamentally the same: to build and maintain a comprehensive, timely and reliable picture of everything that matters in the air and across the surface domain. This requires the continuous collection, fusion and interpretation of vast amounts of sensor data. However, as the number and diversity of targets increase, the challenge is no longer simply to detect them, but to rapidly identify, track and prioritise those that matter most.

As the volume of data grows, so does the importance of advanced data processing and artificial intelligence (AI).

From detection to understanding

AI is reshaping the operational environment from both perspectives: enabling more advanced threats while also providing new tools to help operators manage increasing levels of complexity.

“In the past, many platforms followed predetermined routes and behaviours. Today and even more tomorrow, they can adapt in real time, coordinate with one another, and operate as intelligent swarms - even try to hide in plain sight - making them significantly more difficult to predict, track and counter,” says Fredrik Wising, Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development at Saab.

At the same time, the role of AEW&C systems is evolving to deliver not only awareness, but also deeper understanding and more advanced decision support.

“The challenge is no longer only to see what is approaching, but also to understand the intent and behaviour behind increasingly intelligent threats,” Wising adds. “Operators must be able to interpret large volumes of data, identify patterns, and make faster, more informed decisions."

To keep pace with AI-enabled threats, AEW&C systems are increasingly leveraging AI to support operators with faster analysis, better situational understanding, and more informed decision-making. This includes the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), machine learning, reasoning models and other AI techniques.

Connecting capabilities across domains

While advanced sensors continue to expand what can be detected and tracked, AI is changing how information is processed and understood. At the same time, advances in the space domain are opening new possibilities for surveillance and situational awareness.

“Satellites provide valuable perspectives that complement airborne sensors, enabling earlier detection and broader surveillance coverage across domains. AEW&C platforms are only part of the picture. Space-based assets offer a different perspective, helping reveal activities and movements beyond line-of-sight that might otherwise go undetected. By combining data from multiple sensors and domains, we can build a far more complete and accurate understanding of what's happening,” Wising explains.

In multidomain operations, military operations become increasingly interconnected. By connecting assets and data across air, land, sea, and space, operators can coordinate responses more effectively and respond faster to an evolving operational environment.

“In the future, platforms such as GlobalEye could take on broader command-and-control roles, helping coordinate and direct operations across domains in real time,” says Wising. “A threat might be detected from space, tracked by airborne sensors, and then addressed by the asset best positioned to respond.”

He points to the growing challenge from drones as one example. “A coordinated response might involve a fighter aircraft engaging part of a drone formation while a naval platform engages the remaining targets. The key is to synchronize capabilities across multiple domains and use them where they have the greatest effect.”

AI can then help determine which asset has the highest probability of success, enabling faster and better-informed decisions. “Ultimately, it's about making better decisions, faster than your opponent,” Wising says.

Designed to evolve

With the pace of technological development accelerating, staying ahead has never been more important. It is a mindset that continues to motivate Wising and one that he also sees reflected in the company he has been part of for more than two decades. Continuous innovation is a key part of that approach, ensuring that new ideas are rapidly transformed into capabilities that deliver operational value.

Today's customers are not only investing in a capability for today, but in a system that will continue to evolve over time.

"We take a systems-of-systems approach, building solutions on a common digital platform. This allows us to develop capabilities faster, share improvements across products, and bring new multi-domain capabilities forward more quickly," says Wising.

Saab invests in ongoing innovation and technology development, with partnerships spanning industry, academia, start-ups, and AI innovators. New developments such as the LoyalEye airborne early warning radar, integrated into an unmanned aircraft, demonstrate how new capabilities can complement existing AEW&C systems.

As AEW&C continues to evolve, its role is expanding. Future developments will enable faster decision-making, stronger coordination, and a more complete operational picture across domains. From airborne surveillance to mission orchestration.