The Air Force has ordered its first E-7A Wedgetail battle management and command and control aircraft, announcing Aug. 9 it has agreed to a deal with Boeing worth $2.56 billion for two platforms. The service says the deal is for “operationally representative prototype E-7A weapons ...
Negotiations on the Air Force's purchase of two E-7 Wedgetail air battle management aircraft have hit bumps over cybersecurity and USAF-specific capabilities, service and industry officials said.
NATO has selected the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail as its next Airborne Warning and Control aircraft, and will replace its Boeing E-3 Sentries with the new aircraft by 2035. NATO will buy six E-7s, but may acquire more if other parts of its future surveillance and ...
Despite intense interest—and extra funding—from lawmakers, the U.S. Air Force will almost certainly not be able to get its first E-7 Wedgetail before 2027, acquisition officials said July 31. But the service can still take actions now to fill out the planned fleet of 26 airframes ...
The U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia want to “generate, operate, and sustain a fleet of interoperable E-7 aircraft,” according to a document signed by the three countries’ air chiefs and released to Air & Space Forces Magazine. To make that happen, the trio of air forces ...
The heads of the U.S., British, and Australian air forces all signed a “joint vision statement” declaring their intent to work together in developing the E-7 Wedgetail for airborne early warning and control, the U.S. Air Force announced July 17. USAF did not immediately provide Air ...
The Air Force is unlikely to get any funding for extra aircraft in fiscal 2024, at least if House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Mike Rogers’ markup of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act is any indication. But the draft legislation does lay the groundwork ...
The aging E-3 AWACS fleet got a little smaller last week, as the first of 13 aircraft the Air Force is planning on retiring this year took off from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., for the last time. Before the E-3, aircraft 0560, departed for the ...
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall welcomed a top British defense official to the Pentagon on Feb. 8, for discussions on Russia’s war on Ukraine, U.K. moves to bolster its role in the Indo-Pacific, and new aircraft purchases by both the U.S. and Royal air forces. A ...
Congress is of a mind to allow the Pentagon to do more multiyear procurement—in the billions of dollars—particularly of munitions, given the situation in Ukraine and its implications for other potential conflicts, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante said.
With concerns growing that Congress will once again fail to pass a spending bill in time for the start of the new fiscal year, one Air Force program in particular could suffer—the E-7 Wedgetail. While it’s likely that lawmakers would pass a continuing resolution to ...
The Air Force’s aging E-3 Sentry fleet is on its last legs. The service has already asked in the 2023 budget to retire half the fleet, and its replacement, the E-7 Wedgetail, has been selected. But now, lawmakers and observers are asking a new question: ...