Sweden Mulls Erieye Future, Gets Battlestaff Version
The Swedish air force may have a glimpse of the future in the two Erieye air-surveillance aircraft that have returned to Sweden after being on loan to Greece.
While the Swedish variant of the Saab 340 with the Ericsson radar is operated in a remote role without battle management staff, two of the aircraft on loan in Greece had workstations and on-board command and control staff. Those airplanes are now back in Sweden and under evaluation at a time when the air force is trying to set future Erieye plans.
Swedish defense industry officials suggest all Erieyes would probably be converted into the fully manned configuration. One main reason is that Sweden is looking at the potential of deploying forces and a manned operation is seen as more manageable than remoting the data, suggests Eric Lowenadler, president of Ericsson Microwave Systems. Two of Sweden's six Erieyes are in the manned version.
No decision has been made, Lowendaler stresses. Additionally, he points out that the change is only one of several the air force is considering for the air surveillance fleet.
The manned Erieyes have been in back in Sweden for about six months, but they haven't flown much. They are currently located at the test organization rather than the operational squadron.
Greece was able to return the on-loan aircraft because it is slated to receive its own air surveillance systems, Erieyes based on the EMB-145, next year.
Moreover, the first of the Mexican EMB-145s was delivered to the country
earlier this week.
