Calvin Bailey MP has raised alarm over the UK’s troubled E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning programme, warning of “a pretty major risk” amid delays, reduced orders and doubts over US commitment.
Speaking in the Defence Committee on Thursday, Bailey said: “E-7, we were going to buy five. Then three. They’re horrendously late, overpriced. We’ve got one in with a special clearance, which means there’s something that we don’t know about that means it can’t have a normal clearance. The Americans have pulled their commitment to the programme and Boeing appear ambivalent.”
Defence Secretary John Healey declined to discuss the programme in detail in public session. “Mr. Bailey, if you’ve got a series of questions about Wedgetail in particular… if you can supply them through the clerk, then I will answer them,” he said, offering instead to arrange a closed-door departmental briefing.
Bailey responded that a follow-up discussion had not yet happened despite the Committee being previously briefed behind closed doors: “There’s a pretty major risk to the programme.”
The exchange underscores growing unease about the fate of the UK’s reduced E-7 fleet, a platform intended to replace the now-retired E-3D Sentry as Britain’s primary airborne early warning and control capability.
Originally a five-aircraft buy, the Wedgetail fleet was cut to three in 2021 to save money. At least one aircraft is now undergoing modifications in the UK but has yet to receive standard military clearances.
Neither the Defence Secretary nor MoD officials provided new assurances on cost, timeline or operational viability in the open session.
Surely not at Nimrod AEW and MRA4 level all over again?
I’d hope they’d put up a really big tarp when cutting these up, bad optics seeing that kind of thing.
As we have 5 radar sets bought and paid for, an alternative buy is probably out of the question. Disposal or shaking the magic money tree until it’s passable would be the only options I’d think.
I would I imagine not Nimrod AEW was a root and branch disaster… the airframe to small, power issues, the radar was shite and not able to do the job, the computer was shite and not able to do the job, they used the fuel tanks as a heat sink..which was the most stupid idea imaginable….
This is a proven radar, proven airframe.. with a providence.. what they have here are teething issues and a stupid polical decision to save money in year buy cutting programme numbers so increasing the cost of individual units.
They couid have given us something in the SDR.
As you often say, the cheapish giveaways that might be small in number but offer such an uplift.
More Ch3, 3 more P8, the 2 extra E7. Booms on Voyagers.
We get nothing but 12 F35A which even the reviewer Lord Robertson dismissed.
I don’t think Trump does Noblesse Oblige.
There is no much doubt about US commitment. The programme is terminated.
It seems US wants only E2D that can take off and land in very short runways and space based detection.
Another point are the 1000km range SAM’s and AAM’s that are expected to arrive in 10 years.
As soon as the order was cut to 3, Boeing went luke warm over the project, the MOD was trying to get concessions out of Boeing who saw no profit in ng conversions.
Now as a result of penny pinching from the bean counters we are stuck with a white elephant.
The same old play book.
I can see a very expensive cancellation how it can be spun is anyone’s guess.
How can this project go south? Both the Australians and Turkish have them. NATO may buy them.
Proven Airframe, proven kit how can it all go so wrong?
With HMG, anything can.
Because ours ‘ arn’t the same’ as the Australian or Turkish aircraft, why you ask?
Where would the fun in that be, we use different classified ‘magic sauce’ in ours apparently, instead of simply getting the Australians to build 5 more at exactly tbe same spec that we could have upgraded in lockstep with our allies, we decided to reinvent the wheel, obviously just not gold plated enough to start with!
They will now carry on chucking money at it, possibly get two more and throw another couple of billion at it in 10 years to counter obsolescence, struggle to make that work etc, etc.
The French are very sensibly buying true off the shelf SAAB AWAC systems.
Its what we do in the UK…
Will the 3 that we have bought do a job for us?
Maybe the international man of super diplomacy two Tier Kier can jump on an aircraft and sod off to the States to use a bit of that amazing diplomatic skills he has in order to save the project? But if he’s busy maybe send Reparations Lammey, cry baby Racheal or knocked up at 16 Rayner? I’m sure they could do a cracking job over there with their international renown…….😂💩!
Like a moronic fuckwit like you knows anything about diplomacy .. or anything else for that matter 🤡🤣
Surely we have the radars, we can buy the aircraft and there are numerous European aviation companies Marshall’s spring to mind to integrate the two.
The American space based radar is at least a decade away probably more. Their own AWACS is very long in the tooth .
Further there must be other countries who have order the wedgetail.
I seem to remember that Marshalls were originally the installer and integrators, and that they decided that they wanted out of the military business. I would be interested to know how many 737 ng’s are around in the second hand civil market, I suspect quite a few, and we know two radars have been paid for. What, other than commitment, do we need to get the programme to 5units?
Very few ngs available there’s a 4000 737 order backlog at boeing…
The UK is currently being run by a bunch of former student activists. Totally useless. Almost as bad as the Tory twats that preceded them!
Can’t really blame the current government, it was the last that placed the order and then cut it and its trump that is causing the rest of the issues.
Yep, if indeed the programme is having issues (which we do not actually know) then part of that is down to the previous government ordering 5 then cutting it to an ridiculous 3. The current government seem equally as incompetent and waiting in the wings is a remain party run by a bunch of trump like chancers that only know how to say things people want to hear..
Unless we get politicians who actually want to help the country rather than themselves then we have serious issues going forward.
I don’t know the current government has done a lot to help the country so far. Massively reduced NHS waiting times after dealing with the strikes, improved workers rights bill, major infustructure investments to name a few and only a year in power. They just are terrible at messaging.
Righttrash would ignore any positive “messaging” anyway, they’re incapable of logic (or compassion, or common sense)…
The problems with this programme have zero to do with the present government and everything to do with the last one. What the present government now do about it will be the test on if we blame them for anything… but we have to wait and see what they do.
One major risk not mentionned, is the lifetime upgrades. With the US seemingly out, who is going to bite the bullet and fund this? Going to be hard to get so many countries to agree on a roadmap and stick with it.
my 2 cents
Could an Airbus type be used to accommodate the radar sets?
If you wanted to spend many billions more, futher reinventing the wheel I suppose Mike..
Setting up a small bespoke operation to build 5 aircraft was always a bloody stupid idea, but the MOD just adore blowing money like it’s going out of fashion, they arn’t interested unless they can gold plated it…
More double speak and no orders. Nothing changes.
How?
It’s not like they are brand new designs. How can MoD screw up simple projects time after time?
Nobody backbench MP makes unspecific claims about the programme and everybody turns into headless chickens 🤦🏻♂️
The Tory Minister who signed this off should he hauled in front of a public enquiry, interviewed under caution on misconduct in public office offences and made to face some consequences. No competition and cuts from 5 to 3.
Yes there would be lots of MOD , treasury and industry meddling but the buck has to stop somewhere.
This keeps happening.