RAF AEW&C - E-7A Wedgetail

[Forest Green]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1818080247754948968

View: https://x.com/AirPowerNEW1/status/1818080247754948968

 

[NMaude]

Isn't the USAF going to be replacing its' E-3 Sentries in the near future with the E-7 Wedgetail?

 

[Archibald]

yes, we have a thread about it.

 

[BlackBat242]

Isn't the USAF going to be replacing its' E-3 Sentries in the near future with the E-7 Wedgetail?

Hence the line in the linked article in the first post:

The USAF E-7 builds on that baseline by upgrading to OMS standards, upgrades to networks and other classified enhancements.

Here is the thread about the USAF E-7... note that the announcement is in post #116 at the bottom of the 3rd page. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/us-awacs-recapitalization-for-the-21st-century.37901/

 

[Ali_Baba]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1818080247754948968

View: https://x.com/AirPowerNEW1/status/1818080247754948968

Hopefully the "combination" of elements of the P8 and E7 is not another dead-end MOD frankenstein but has a chance of becoming mainstream and supportable over the longterm....

 

[bring_it_on]

Hopefully the "combination" of elements of the P8 and E7 is not another dead-end MOD frankenstein but has a chance of becoming mainstream and supportable over the longterm....

It is the configuration that the USAF is getting and NATO beyond that as well.

 

[Ali_Baba]

It is the configuration that the USAF is getting and NATO beyond that as well.

Cool - the UK MOD has a habit of creating dead-ends that it then needs to unwind later - eg the Apaches that were gold-plated, only for that gold-plating having to be removed at great cost so that they could be upgraded.

 

[Grey Havoc]

That gold plating actually worked well though. The 'upgrades' in the new birds on the other hand may have not been worth the overall loss of capabilities, let alone the cost (the U.S. has gone down quite a few dead ends itself in recent times, in the name of 'Transformation', 'Netcentric warfare' and such). Not to mention the throwing aside of British needs in the process, both operational and industrial.

 

[bring_it_on]

The requirement for introducing commonality with P-8 made a ton of sense since the P-8 is a larger program, and actually in production whereas the E-7 had to be brought back into production following the RAF order. Going forward, maintaining commonality will save cost not to mention improve capability given its a good upgrade.