Britain remains open to buying additional E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft, but any further procurement will depend on available funding, Defence Minister Luke Pollard has said.
The update came in response to a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked what progress had been made on Recommendation 47 of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, including maintaining the aircraft and exploring further procurement through cost-sharing arrangements with NATO allies.
Pollard confirmed that Defence will take responsibility for maintaining the UK’s E-7 fleet once the aircraft have formally entered service.
He said: “The MOD will assume responsibility for maintaining the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft once they are accepted into service.”
Preparations for that transition are already under way, with personnel being trained to support the aircraft ahead of Initial Operating Capability.
Pollard said: “In preparation, training of maintenance personnel is already underway as part of wider efforts to establish and sustain the UK E-7 enterprise ahead of Initial Operating Capability.”
The E-7 Wedgetail is intended to provide the RAF with airborne early warning and control capability, using its radar and mission systems to detect and track aircraft and other threats while helping coordinate friendly forces across a wide area.
The UK programme has attracted significant amount of scrutiny over the size of the planned fleet, particularly after the number of aircraft was reduced from the original order. Recommendation 47 of the Strategic Defence Review called for the existing E-7 capability to be maintained while exploring options to procure additional aircraft, including through cost-sharing arrangements with NATO allies.
On further procurement, however, Pollard of course stopped short of announcing a new order or confirming that a NATO cost-sharing arrangement had been agreed.
He said: “The UK remains open to exploring all opportunities for future E-7 Wedgetail procurement, subject to the availability of funding.”
The wording leaves open the possibility of expanding the fleet in future, but makes clear that no additional purchase has yet been committed.
For the immediate programme, the focus remains on bringing the existing aircraft into service and establishing the personnel, maintenance and support structure needed to sustain them.
A further buy of AEW aircraft should be the number one priority right now along side ABM capability.
The fact that it’s not shows how the MoD actually perceives the “imminent threat of war”
Hard to make a case to the treasury for tax rises or gutting the NHS when the vast majority of your extra funding goes on pet projects primarily designed around fighting distant wars in support of US operations while you start cutting Reserve and Cadet numbers instead of growing them like everyone else.
Getting the country on a total war footing obviously revolves around pouring billion into a single regiment with just a few hundred people in it. That will totally stop a mechanised army invading Eastern Europe 🤦♂️
Reserve and Cadet numbers are going up Jim. The only pet project in the pipeline is GCAP. All the other funding is going directly into war fighting capabilities and drones (ie kill webs, FPV and long range strike.). Nowhere is the MOD, the military or politicians talking about distant wars in support of US operations.
Let’s face it our doors are open to almost anything at the moment after all!
Wedgetail, like the Protector, is to be considered. In other words, no news. As usual.
Can kicked. Job done.
No expansion in force numbers anywhere beyond introduction of Drones, balanced by cuts continuing in other areas.