The Royal Air Force’s new Wedgetail E-7 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft has taken its maiden flight in the UK, marking a major milestone for the programme.
The unpainted aircraft conducted a Functional Check flight from Birmingham Airport, testing critical systems such as flying controls, engines, and avionics.
The Wedgetail, known for its advanced capabilities, will provide the RAF with enhanced surveillance and target tracking. According to Group Captain Richard Osselton, RAF Programme Director for Wedgetail, “Achieving the first flight of Wedgetail is a significant milestone, representing an outstanding effort from the RAF programme team, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), Boeing, and STS Aviation Services.”
The E-7 Wedgetail, built on a Boeing 737 airframe, features a state-of-the-art Multirole Electronically Scanned Array radar that gives it a 360-degree view of the airspace. This makes it a critical asset for commanders in complex combat scenarios, providing early warning of approaching threats. It will also enhance the situational awareness of Joint Force commanders by delivering tactical control to other assets.
Boeing’s Vice President and E-7 Program Manager, Stu Voboril, emphasised the importance of this initial test flight, stating, “This safe and systematic Functional Check Flight is an important step for Boeing and the RAF as part of our rigorous and extensive testing and evaluation.”
The Wedgetail is already operational with the air forces of Australia, South Korea, and Turkey, and has been selected by the United States Air Force and NATO. The aircraft’s UK variant will be stationed at RAF Lossiemouth alongside the Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, with both aircraft benefiting from synergies as they share the Boeing 737 platform.
Later this autumn, the Wedgetail will receive its official RAF livery before continuing its Test & Evaluation phase. The first of these cutting-edge aircraft is expected to enter service with the RAF in the near future, further boosting the UK’s air defence capabilities.
Good to see, let’s see if SDSR25 funds two more, hopefully before the team spit I and the cost of further conversions goes through the roof!
SDSR25 is likely to be a disaster, defence spending will likely be slashed and we’ll be lucky just to get the three E-7s in order into service. Labour are not committed to defence.
.. but didn’t Starmer commit to INCREASING Defence spending to 2.5% GDP in July?
and your point is?
Whoah, you should go to your bed. If they’re “not committed to defence,” why would they commit to INCREASING spending? Eh?
Starmer committed to a lot of things ..for the sole purpose of getting elected. Some were silly enough to believe him.
You’re funny. Reform your thing?
it is funny considering they all do just that. My take on Western modern politics is to warp Mr Churchills’ eloquent quote(no disrespect intended to him or fighter command). “Seldom were so many so poorly served by so few”
Not really. His statements on 2.5% always come with the important caveat of “only when country can afford it”, and he has repeatedly refused to a set “an arbitrary date” for reaching that. As such he can even argue that a “temporary” cut in the defence budget to below 2.0% of GDP (excluding the 0.2% that is aid to Ukraine) is essential for the greater good of the UK’s finances, although (paraphrasing his recent statements) he “remains committed to 2.5% when it can be achieved under fiscal rules”. My hope is that the USA (under Trump?) and other allies will start to… Read more »
Mate, things are so bad that it seems there is no room to cut more. Anyway, my glass half full approach.
There is room for debate on this, the RAF must get the two additional aircraft. IMO, this is the most pressing requirement for the RAF.
I still can’t believe that the MOD cancelled the fourth and fifth aircraft, despite almost no savings resulting from a procurement and equipment budget perspective. A decision definitely in the MOD’s top 5 “penny wise pound foolish” false economies since 2000, which has a very crowded field of contenders! Anyone know what has happened to the two suddenly surplus Northrop Grumman MESA radars? It was too late to cancel these and the MOD had to take delivery of them. The two options under consideration in 2022 were to try to sell them on at a discount to another buyer of… Read more »