The Ministry of Defence’s E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning programme has been assessed as “Red” in the latest Government Major Projects Portfolio update, reflecting continued challenges with schedule, budget and certification, the UK Defence Journal understands.
According to the NISTA Annual Report 2024–2025, the Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) for the programme remained at Red in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024–25, unchanged from the previous year.
The report explained: “The Project’s Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 is RED, compared with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s assessment last year of RED. This is due to the following factors. Whilst a sufficient budget was issued to the SRO, the delay in obtaining final approval of the Full Business Case is impacting across several areas of the Programme, particularly the sustainment contract.”
The report also confirmed that the programme’s forecast end date has slipped.
“Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project’s end-date at 24/25-Q4 increased from 01/06/2027 to 31/12/2027. This is primarily due to the following factors. Challenges within the global supply chain, retention of an appropriately skilled workforce at the modification facility and an increase in certification complexity and requirements has caused delays to the In-Service Date and subsequent milestones. As the aircraft completes its modification, the certification schedule is emerging as the critical path.”
The E-7 Wedgetail is intended to provide what the MOD calls a “fifth-generation Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) capability, with a Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array sensor, interoperable and interchangeable with key allies,” with an anticipated out-of-service date of at least 2042.
Budgetary pressures have also been noted. The report stated: “The budget variance exceeds 5%. This is primarily due to the following factors. Defence financial challenges and internal spend commitment controls have led to a different spend profile to that initially envisaged.” The departmentally agreed whole life cost of the programme decreased from £2.053 billion in FY23/24-Q4 to £1.962 billion in FY24/25-Q4, described as “primarily as a consequence of programme contextual changes in the aircraft acquisition contract.”
Despite the scale of the investment, the report notes: “Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project’s departmentally agreed Benefits at 24/25-Q4 (measured in £m) remained at 0. This is primarily due to the following factors. No monetised benefits.”
The E-7 Wedgetail programme, intended to replace the retired E-3D Sentry fleet, is now not expected to achieve full operational capability until late 2027.
Have we still got those bull Dozers ?
I mean how?
Second hand airframes and an electronics system already in service elsewhere.
Someone is scamming us over this contract.
I think you are making a heap of assumptions here. Currently they are working on the first one. Let’s be generous and contemplate the possibility that time and price have simply been underestimated.
One thing that worries me is “retention of skilled workforce”.
If people are leaving, why? If there is a brain drain going on in this project someone somewhere has taken their eye off the ball.
There is also the suggestion of requirements being changed. If that is so it might be that folk trying to get the job done are getting hacked off with changes to the requirements from the MoD / RAF only to find themselves being expected to finish stuff for the same price in the same timeframe… Therefore they be seriously p*****d off and walk.
Military officers are usually only in post for two years no where near enough time to get up to speed on a complex program such as this, even if it has been down elsewhere. Fiddling around with requirements is often seen as a ‘good’ way to make an impact in post to spice up annual reports. I’ve actually come across this myself.
Complex project should attract a much longer posting and the annual reports should focus on keeping the project on time and to budget. Overspend and/or time slippage should attract a lot of the wrong kind of attention to focus minds…
Cheers CR
Oh, what a surprise. Yet another U.K. success story.
No surprises here. A large military project has slipped slightly in time and cost. I’m sure there is a contingency fund.
The fact that it is highlighted is a good thing – a little extra focus might even prevent further delay.
Get it sorted and out of the red.
*Large* ?
It’s 3 icle weeny teeny old AirLiners.
“You wouldn’t run a business like that”.
Lol. Great we are all expecting you to bid for the work on the next batch.
Working out of your shed you should be able to put in an extremely competative price and still get a little profit.
This could revolutionise defence spending in the UK.
Halfwit Enterprises Ltd?. I’ll look out for you on the stock exchange.
Ha, funny you should mention my Shed, thats exactly where it started, in my shed 1977. Retired now, spend too much time reading silly things on sites like this but find it hugely entertaining.
Any luck with the “Large!” question yet ? or will your assumptions get the better of you again ?
🤡
How on this planet have proven airframes with systems that are already in service elsewhere, been allowed to slip to this category
MOD procurement again has proven itself to be totally inept.
3 AIRFRAMES for gods sake.
TOTAL AND UTTER INCOMPETANCE
You do know the MOD don’t do this work in-house?
The mere fact that the project is in the RED category is proof they are keeping an eye on it and hav acted to correct the issue.
We could perhaps query the choice of contractor or maybe the allocated budget. Modifying existing aircraft is perhaps not an easy task and may not be within the skill set of many companies.
Somebody somewhere is trying to fk this country through selling off good ships, not accepting people in the forces for crap reasons, not getting new kit and spending our money on hotels for isis fighters….
Different day, different programme, same old shit same old excuses.
“As the aircraft completes its modification, the certification schedule is emerging as the critical path.”
Do I smell post Haddon Cave processes rearing their head again?
The problem with procuring just three frames is that #1-3 is the learning curve and #4-5+ is then handle turning.
So none of the learning curve monies are utilised properly.
I’m not too surprised that it was hard to keep skilled people a couple of years ago when the jobs market was red hot. I would be very worried if it was the case now as things have cooled so much.
The Australian order had lots of delays and issues too going back to 2004 and beyond, it seems par for the coarse.
How would this have gone as a new build? One of the problems with second hand is variations over time. Not a problem until you try to slice & dice. These are not standard 737-700. They are BBJ 737-700, so the odd one here & there against hundreds of standard B737-700 aircraft.
If they’d wanted a new build they would have had to go for a 737-MAX as the NGs are no-longer manufactured. Using MAXs would have
• increased their divergence from the other Wedgetails in service internationally,
• would have reduced commonality with other 737s in RAF service (eg P8 Poseidon), and….
• are we 100% confident all the issues in the MAX bodge have been discovered and rectified??