The destruction of a U.S. Air Pressure E-3G Sentry AWACS in Saudi Arabia has reignited debate concerning the procurement of the E-7A Wedgetail.
The lack of a U.S. Air Pressure E-3G Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Management System) following the drone and missile assault at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on Mar. 27, 2026, has reignited debate concerning the growing old fleet, placing the highlight on its alternative. Because it has typically been reported, the E-3 fleet continues to age and is changing into more and more troublesome to maintain and function, whereas the E-7A Wedgetail continues to be removed from being fielded.
In reality, the Wedgetail has encountered plenty of skepticism from the Air Pressure and the Pentagon. Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth referred to as the E-7 “costly and ‘gold plated,’” cancelling this system in favor of a gap-filler primarily based on the E-2D Hawkeye whereas establishing a space-based functionality.
This plan was met by critics, together with by 16 retired senior Air Pressure workplaces, and was later pushed again by the Congress with the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA). In the meantime, work is constant on the 2 prototypes, with the primary airframe arrived this month within the UK for the conversion.
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— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 29, 2026
The E-7A Speedy Prototype Beginnings
The Division of the Air Pressure first chosen the E-7 Wedgetail because the alternative for the E-3 Sentry in 2022. A 12 months later, in March 2023, the Division awarded a not-to-exceed $1.2 billion contract to Boeing to begin improvement actions for the E-7A Speedy Prototype program.
The objective was to make use of this fast prototyping acquisition pathway to acquire the primary two plane. “The E-7A would be the division’s principal airborne sensor for detecting, figuring out, monitoring, and reporting all airborne exercise to Joint Pressure commanders,” mentioned Andrew Hunter, then assistant secretary of the Air Pressure for Acquisition, Expertise and Logistics.
On the time, the event work was anticipated to be full by August 2024, with plans to start manufacturing in Fiscal Yr 2025 and area the primary E-7A by FY2027. The projected plane stock was set to 26 plane, to be procured by FY2032.
In August 2024, the U.S. Air Pressure awarded Boeing a $2.56 billion contract for the manufacturing of two fast prototype E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Management) plane, persevering with the hassle launched a 12 months earlier. Value and negotiations had been influenced by the variety of modifications requested by the Air Pressure, which required extra engineering work than anticipated.
On the time, it was additionally reported that the service evaluated the potential for procuring a modified variant of the Wedgetail already in service with the Royal Australian Air Pressure (RAAF), the sort’s first operator. Within the Speedy Prototype contract, Boeing later mentioned that two variants of the E-7 could be developed.
Manufacturing Begins
In January 2025, Boeing introduced that the fuselage of the U.S. Air Pressure’s first E-7A was delivered to Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington. As beforehand reported, the E-7’s manufacturing would use a Boeing 737-700 NG airframe as base, which might be modified to incorporate the specialised tools.
In April 2025, three months later, Boeing supplied an replace on the manufacturing’s progress with a video displaying the fuselage being mated with the wings. Nostril, tail cone, stabilizer’s root and different parts had been additionally put in, with Boeing saying the tails vertical and horizontal stabilizers had been subsequent.
In the meantime, the Air Pressure was already eyeing potential upgrades for the platform, which in its authentic type was a 20 years previous design. Together with updates to the platform’s digital warfare, communications, and datalinking capabilities, the service was additionally investigating the mixing of an infrared sensor and a alternative for the Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar.
A Request for Data (RFI) concerning the potential upgrades talked about that an Engineering and Manufacturing Growth (EMD) contract was anticipated to observe in FY2027. Among the many choices being thought of by the service had been the retrofit of the brand new applied sciences onto present E-7 airframes, integration of them solely onto newbuild airframes, or a mixture of those two choices.
First Threats
In Could 2025, the primary stories emerged concerning the U.S. Division of Protection favoring a shift from plane to satellites for the alternative of the AWACS platform. With the U.S. Area Pressure planning to area satellite-based floor shifting goal indicator (GMTI) methods within the 2030s, the Division was additionally investigating the potential for integrating airborne shifting goal indicator (AMTI) radar capabilities.
Instantly, critics argued that having operators decoding information in actual time on an plane such because the E-3 and the E-7 is exclusive and at present irreplaceable functionality for command and management. The U.S. Air Pressure’s then Chief of Employees David Allvin equally mentioned that, though satellite tv for pc capabilities are prone to be the answer sooner or later, they don’t seem to be mature sufficient to depend on for present necessities.
Throughout a Home Appropriations Committee listening to in July 2025, Secretary Hegseth drew additional doubts about this system’s future. He pointed to the teachings from the warfare in Ukraine as the explanation, including that the E-2D Hawkeye was being thought of as stop-gap measure.
“If we’ve methods and platforms which can be ‘not survivable within the trendy battlefield’, or they don’t give us a bonus in a future battle, we’ve to make the powerful choices proper now,” Hegseth mentioned. “The E-7 is an instance of that.”
In the meantime, a bunch of retired senior USAF officers, together with former Chiefs of Employees of the U.S. Air Pressure and NATO Supreme Allied Commanders, argued in a letter that the choice to chop the E-7 would “severely and unnecessarily undermine our service members’ means to discourage, and if essential, prevail in future conflicts.” They additional mentioned the proposed E-2D Hawkeye-based gap-filler is unable to correctly fulfill the necessities of theater-wide command and management.
Conversion Moved to the UK
In September 2025, Boeing disclosed the 2 E-7 prototypes could be transformed in the UK, marking a uncommon occasion of U.S. Air Pressure plane work being carried out on British soil. The work will use STS Aviation’s present conversion line in Birmingham – at present the one facility worldwide arrange for E-7 conversions – to rework the Boeing 737-700 industrial airframes into Wedgetails.
STS has already transformed one 737-700 to the E-7 configuration for the RAF and has two extra in various states of meeting, offering a prepared industrial base to assist the U.S. prototypes. The primary of the 2 U.S. Air Pressure’s airframes to be transformed to the Wedgetail configuration arrived within the UK in March 2026.
FY2026 NDAA Pushes Again
The Fiscal Yr 2026 U.S. Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) contains provisions geared toward making certain continuity within the Air Pressure’s Airborne Early Warning and Management (AEW&C) mission. The objective is to forestall a functionality hole because the E-3 fleet continues to age and turns into more and more troublesome to maintain and function.
Notably, the invoice prohibits the Air Pressure from retiring or inserting into storage any E-3 plane that would scale back the lively fleet beneath 16 plane. Nonetheless, two potential exceptions are additionally talked about, both a submission of a readiness and mission-continuity plan or the procurement of a ample variety of E-7 plane to cowl required mission wants.
The legislative intent is to take care of minimal airborne early warning capability till alternative functionality is assured. Congress has traditionally used fleet-retirement restrictions to protect capability throughout transitions.
On the identical time, the NDAA additionally forbids the usage of FY2026 funds to terminate the mid-tier acquisition fast prototype contract for the E–7A and the operations of the E-7A’s manufacturing line. This additional affirms the intent of Congress that the Air Pressure keep momentum on changing the E-3 and proceed work on the E-7 program.
2026 Developments
In March 2026, the U.S. Air Pressure has awarded contracts to Boeing to proceed improvement of the E-7. Based on an Air Pressure spokesperson quoted by Breaking Protection, the contract are a consequence of the FY2026 NDAA.
“In accordance with the Fiscal Yr 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Division of the Air Pressure (DAF) has authorized an up to date acquisition technique for the E-7A Wedgetail program. This technique executes Congressional path to proceed improvement and transition to an Engineering and Manufacturing Growth (EMD) section,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“This technique continues the prototyping and improvement effort by way of the execution of two sole-source contract actions with Boeing, which embrace exercising one pre-priced possibility and awarding one new modification,” additional added the assertion. “The plane acquired for the EMD section will enable the Air Pressure to mature the system design, conduct threat discount, and carry out complete take a look at and verification actions in accordance with Congressional intent.”
Additionally in March, the E-7A Program Workplace launched a Request for Data (RFI) for a complete Product Assist Enterprise Case Evaluation (BCA) for the E-7A plane fleet. The attachment paperwork point out that the service continues to be seeking to procure “no less than two however presumably as much as twenty-six plane,” whereas additionally mentioning “the E-7A plane to exchange a portion of the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Management System (AWACS) fleet.”
In the meantime, the primary airframe to be modified arrived within the UK. Based on FlightGlobal, the unpainted Boeing 737-700, registered as N471DS and with callsign BOE151, arrived at STS Aviation Companies’ services in Birmingham after a cease at Bangor Worldwide airport, in Maine.
