Boeing has been contracted by the U.S. Air Force to develop two new variants of the E-7 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft, one of which will eventually replace the iconic AWACS aircrafts.
The USAF has 31 E-3 AWACS (for Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft in its inventory, which, while modernized to the recent Block 40/45 (now earning the E-3G designation), are based on the Boeing 707 airframe, which has been in continuous service for nearly 45 years.
For its inevitable replacement, the United States Air Force (USAF) had already announced that it had selected the Boeing Company’s E-7 Wedgetail, which is the only U.S.-produced airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that has the necessary capabilities to take over after the operational retirement of the E-3 Sentry.
E-7 Wedgetail
As reported by Boeing, the E-7 offers a flexible, fully integrated, combat-proven command and control node that provides multidomain awareness in the most challenging operating environments. The E-7’s open systems architecture and agile software design allow the aircraft’s capabilities to evolve and stay ahead of future threats.
“The E-7 is a proven platform,” said Stu Voboril, E-7 program vice president and general manager. “It is the only advanced aircraft that is capable of meeting the U.S. Air Force’s near-term Airborne Early Warning & Control requirement while enabling integration across the joint force.”
The E-7 tracks multiple airborne and maritime threats simultaneously with 360-degree coverage via the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor. MESA provides the warfighter with critical domain awareness to detect and identify adversarial targets at long range and dynamically adjusts to emerging tactical situations.
The contract awarded to Boeing, valued at $1.2 billion, aims to develop two new E-7 variants that meet USAF specifications.
Other operators of the E-7 Wedgetail include the Royal Australian Air Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, the Turkish Air Force and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
