Labour MP Luke Akehurst has condemned the previous Conservative Government’s handling of the RAF’s Wedgetail programme as “irrational,” “perverse” and a case of “vandalism” that left the UK dangerously exposed without critical airborne early warning capability.
Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on the troubled E-7 programme, the North Durham MP said the aircraft was “not just for the RAF” but a “force multiplier that will have a huge impact on the ability of all our other military capabilities, across air, land and sea, to dominate the modern battlespace.”
Akehurst welcomed debate on the issue, stating “Wedgetail scans the battlefield using advanced radar and sensors… it processes vast amounts of information to allow commanders to make informed and speedy decisions about where to deploy their assets.” He questioned recent speculation that the US might revert to the E-2D Hawkeye, noting that “whatever the capabilities of the airframe, it has an older radar and does not have the kind of space inside it for command and control facilities that Wedgetail does.”
The aircraft, built from modified Boeing 737s, is currently in production at Meriden. While acknowledging the relatively small workforce, Akehurst stressed that the 190 jobs—expected to rise to over 300—were “highly skilled” and that “as many as 100 jobs could be created at RAF Lossiemouth for the sustainment contract.”
Akehurst pointed to a series of disruptions to the programme, including “the impact of covid,” and “a hurricane hitting the site where the radar is produced.” However, he emphasised that the greatest delays stemmed from flawed assumptions made during the rushed 2019 procurement.
“The belief in 2019 that the previous Government could rush through the original contract process in just nine months, when it would normally take two or three years, was naive to say the least,” he said. “It meant that many assumptions made during the planning of the programme were incorrect.”
He was particularly scathing of the 2021 decision by then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to cut the Wedgetail order from five aircraft to three, calling it “extraordinary, destructive and irrational.”
“Five aircraft were required for a reason: one to be in deep maintenance and repair, one for training and then at least two to sustain a single operation 24/7,” he said. “How does that work with only three aircraft?”
The cut not only weakened capability, Akehurst argued, but made poor financial sense. “The axing of 40% of the fleet delivered only a 12% saving on the cost of the programme,” he said. “The United Kingdom had already procured not three but five sets of extremely expensive advanced radar from Northrop Grumman, so there are now two really expensive sets of radar sat around as spares for airframes that do not exist.”
Citing the 2023 Defence Committee report that described the decision as “an absolute folly,” Akehurst said the outcome had been predictable: “The decision to cut the order from five to three meant that the contract needed to be renegotiated and led to a further delay of six months, all the while leaving the huge capability gap.”
That gap, he reminded MPs, followed the retirement of the RAF’s E-3D Sentry fleet and has been described by the Defence Committee as “a serious threat to the UK’s warfighting ability.”
Akehurst concluded by welcoming the Strategic Defence Review’s recommendation that further Wedgetails “should be procured when funding allows,” and drew a pointed comparison with past mistakes: “Really, this essential programme was vandalised by the previous Government. It is a stunning example of poor decision making.”
Can the two spare radars be adapted to fit other models of 737s or other types of planes altogether? Is the P8 737 body quite a different frame? If these radars are already paid for there’s got to be some saving of future expenses there, but what an under utlised waste of a valuable asset. Be good to get it sorted.
The radar is aircraft agnostic. In that it could be fitted to any aircraft that can accommodate it. Both the E7 and P8 are based on the B737NG. But are different variants within that product line. The E7 is a B737-700ER and the P8 is a B737-800ER but uses the -900ER wings, which are apparently stronger. The main difference is that the -800 is a stretched version of the -700, so it could compete directly with the Airbus A320. The P8 is also more aerodynamically efficient than the -700, so burns less fuel.
The main competitor to the B737, the Airbus A320 would also be a suitable aircraft. For example France along with Airbus are going to use it as their Alantique replacement for a future maritime patrol aircraft. But any of the larger commercial or transport aircraft could in theory carry the radar and its systems. For example the A400M. However, due to the huge internal volume of the A400, you would probably have to build an internal two deck option. Otherwise there’s lots of wasted space. But it would give other options for increasing the crew size etc.
The main issue is that the aircraft’s airframe will need modifying to handle the antenna’s weight. Another major issue is that it will require the flight control software modifying and testing due the antenna acting as a vertical fin. There’s all the other issue to look at such as power generation, cooling, signal processing rack location etc. With the B737-700, the loads and the way it flies are well understood. The logical and cheapest option is to buy more -700s and convert them. Unless someone is willing to stump up the funds to look at other aircraft for integration.
Just stick with what is known and has a safety case……..please no clever ideas….
I think that feasibility option has sailed. The only way we will look at another airframe is if we are part of a large partnership. I know Airbus are looking at expanding the roles that A400 can do. But it’s a bloody large aircraft, perhaps too large for some roles.
I wonder if there’s an option of the Government/MoD being able to compulsory purchase some more -700s from some UK airlines? Compensation would be paid obviously. But if the situation comes about where no one is willing to sell of their -700s. Is there an option to go down that route?
It is down to a commercial offer.
The problem is that the frames have now clocked up 5 more years of heavy use as the low hours ones that were thumb marked during COVID are now released.
I am sure that if you offered a lease Co enough money they would be happy to help. HMG are not very good at the making things happen with cash approach – they will do penny pinching and hand wringing as preferred options.
The big problem is that Boeing are not releasing planes into the market.
So the only way that this works is if an airline decided to go Boeing -> Airbus and then releases the old fleet.
The plus side is that airlines won’t want to hang onto these relatively maintenance intensive and fuel inefficient, by modern standard, frames.
But it all comes down to a deal…
This was why HMG used to finance airline fleets with cheap cash in return for having options. Not anymore.
Well I don’t see anything to disagree with there.
I wonder if François, having got his grandstanding in first, will reply.
Endless recriminations. No real action apart from kicking the can down the road.
Cancelling the two E3’s was one of Wallace’ more perverse decisions. Worse than cutting the size of the army, reducing the number of Challengers to be upgraded (148) or scrapping the Warrior upgrade when nearly half a $billion had been spent. Not to mention the “superinjunction” and refusing to sack the incompetent bod responsible for the leak. After all, it’s only cost us about £8.5 billion from the defence budget
I suspect that Healey will announce something positive about the Wedgetail in the autumn
Hi mate.
I did ask on here yesterday whether the reported relocation cost is also being lumped in the defence budget? An utter disaster if so.
But Starmer will be delighted.
He gets to bring more migrants over, and he won’t have to spend it on kit.
Or, it nicely goes in with all the other “defence” related stuff they are busy shoving into the 2.5% or the additional 1.5%
Well the previous Government won power when the country had a choice between the conservatives and corbyn’s labour party which would clearly have cancelled ever project they could and mothballed the rest of the kit. Any improvements from this Government are probably due to being pushed by the Americans into spending more. Defence is not a natural avenue for spending under a labour Government.
I don’t think many people here will disagree that it was a mistake to reduce the order for E7s, especially when we have ordered the radars already. Hopefully this statement might be a hint that an order for some additional airframes might be on the way. Although, from what I’ve heard it’ll be hard to find the required airframes as they’re no longer in production.
Even if we do get the additional two planes, the potential MQ9B AEW will be just as big a purchase. The costs of sending up a drone will be much lower and the results can be interpreted on the ground at a much lower cost. This would mean that we can run more flights for a fraction of the cost
One of a number of crazy MoD decisions in the last few years. Not forgetting binning off Puma2 or ordering frigates without sonar! Crazy decisions and MoD/ Def Secs go hand in hand.
So warm words, no orders, state normal
I’ve read multiple experts stating the difference between India and Pakistan in their brief air war was their version of wedgetail. Seems nuts we aren’t buying 5 plus plus
Even five was too few, but three is pathetic.
Same with the P8 and quite frankly most defence capabilities recently.
It does make me wonder if MPs or more likely their attaché/researchers have been looking at the comments we’ve been making in the UKDJ. I do know that articles and comments have been quoted by members of the Defence Select Committee before.
What the Rt Hon Akehurst has stated is almost verbatim of what we’ve been saying I regards to numbers and how that would work operationally. But it’s interesting to see him make the statement on the comparison with the E2 Hawkeye. Which is more than a top level headline that most MPs use.
What does surprise me, is that Akehurst has no previous military experience and has not been part of Governmental defence, or committees, he’s a life long politician. So where has this interest come from? As his facts are correct, which is a change for a politician!
When you put technolgically illterate ex army officers (e.g. Wallace, Heappey) in charge of anything technical they always screw it up.