More than 550 tonnes of steel have been supplied by a company local to RAF Lossiemouth as facilities for supporting the UK’s E-7 Wedgetail fleet continue to take shape.
DE&S placed a £83 million contract in March 2023 with Boeing Defence UK who is working with its local supplier McLaughlin & Harvey to build the facilities which are situated alongside the Atlantic Building, from which the UK’s fleet of nine Poseidon MRA Mk1 aircraft already operate.
And Simmers Contracts, a family-business from Moray, just 25 miles from Lossiemouth has been sub-contracted to supply 7,000m2 of cladding and 556 tonnes of steel for building the base frame structure of the Wedgetail Line Engineering Squadron building for routine maintenance and aircraft upgrades and a second building, dedicated to mission systems training.
The E-7 Wedgetail programme is supporting hundreds of jobs in the region, say the Ministry of Defence, boosting the local supply chain.
Lyndon Jones, E-7 Wedgetail Infrastructure lead at DE&S said:
“The E-7 programme is critical, not only in the development of a capability that will equip our Armed Forces with a competitive edge to protect the nation but also by providing UK prosperity.”
Steve Burnell, managing director of Boeing Defence UK said:
“Boeing leverages the strength of its local supply chain to support the communities where we are proud to live and work. Through our relationship with Mclaughlin & Harvey, we are pleased to have Simmers Contracts play a pivotal role in the construction of the new facilities for the UK’s E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, as we continue to work with the RAF to prepare the fleet’s entry into service.”
The E-7 Wedgetail infrastructure program is expected to complete early in 2025.
Surprised we are bothering for only 3 airframes
Don’t be.
For decades we have operated 3 aircraft in the ELINT role, from Nimrod R1 to RC135.
So same number as the ASCS capability.
And the ground based infrastructure supporting that capability is I believe far more extensive than this outlay for E7.
Every capability, no matter how many assets are at the sharp end, needs a tail.
👏
What, the ‘fleet’ of three? Cosmic! 🤦🏻♂️
The RAF needs to stop putting so much kit at Lossie. A very large proportion of personnel simply don’t want to be up there. People like places such as Lincolnshire because it’s in easy reach of most of the UK, you can go and visit friends and family at the weekend, or go home if you lived in the block during the week. Lossie is too far away to make that feasible for most people. There is already a massive retention issue in the RAF, posting people to the middle of nowhere only makes it worse.
It is the , RAF, you go where they send you. That is your choice, when you sign up.
The reason the , Poseidon and wedgetails, are based in Lossiemouth, is because it is closer to Russia and the North Atlantic gap , between UK and Iceland. Quicker response times and more time on patrol. This is to detect Russian submarines, heading into the Atlantic. This is why the Americans, have invested heavily in upgrades at Lossiemouth.
When I signed up, there was a hell of a lot more choice in postings. The only reason the E7 is going there is because they government cut the numbers. When 5 were ordered, Boeing were going to build a purpose-built hangar at Waddington. When the order was cut to 3, it no longer made financial sense to do so. Plus the comment of “you go where they send you”, doesn’t work nowadays. People aren’t signing up for a career, they’re joining with the full intention of gaining training and work experience, then moving on. So they’re going to have… Read more »
Ridiculous with only 3 aircraft ordered.
Quentin,
Received notification of your comment via email, although not currently available w/in comments section of this article. Thanks. 😊. At the very least, believe it should add to the argument for installation of effective GBAD, ASAP.
sub edit to Quentin- ditto re your post to me! Something odd on the go here
RAF and their MEGA bases, one nuc and the most of the RAF’s fighting force is gone. Also its not spreading the Defence pounds around as in the past. There used to be 2 large bases there and no one had issues living up there in the past but now the youth want everything easy for them. Who is running the RAF, sounds like they couldn’t run a bath these days. Sad situation the UK Armed forces are in. One of the biggest defence budgets on earth yet have little to show for it. Come on UK Gov wake up… Read more »
Do we need hugely expensive facilities for just 3 aircraft?
I’m jesting of course but having a very limited fleet is going to be a problem.