The United States Air Force (USAF) has turned to the United Kingdom to assemble its first two E-7A Wedgetail airborne warning and control prototypes, in what London describes as the first British contribution to American military aircraft production in more than half a century.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the arrangement on September 18, 2024, during US President Donald Trump’s state visit to London. The project is expected to create around 150 jobs and inject more than £36 million into the British economy.
A replacement for aging AWACS
In 2023, the USAF announced plans to acquire 26 E-7A Wedgetails to replace its 31 E-3B/G Sentry AWACS aircraft from 2027 onward. The E-7, already in service or on order with Australia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and NATO, was seen as a natural successor.
Equipped with the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar with a range of more than 400 kilometers, electronic countermeasures, and a suite of advanced communications systems (including UHF, HF, VHF, Link 11, Link 16, ICS, and SATCOM), the Wedgetail offers a comprehensive airborne command and control capability.
Diverging requirements complicate talks
While USAF officials initially believed their requirements would align closely with the E-7s already ordered by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the program encountered complications.
“Those requirements diverged, complicating development [of the prototypes] and contract negotiations,” explained Andrew Hunter, then assistant secretary of the US Air Force for acquisition and technology.
As a result, Washington opted to order two prototypes first. In July 2024, the Pentagon reached a $2.6 billion deal with Boeing to refurbish and convert two commercial 737 airframes into the first USAF E-7As, work that will now take place in Birmingham, UK.
A rare British role in US defense procurement
The MoD stressed the historical significance of the contract: “For the first time in over fifty years, Great Britain will contribute to the construction of military aircraft” for the United States.
Since the US Marine Corps purchased the Hawker Siddeley Harrier in the 1970s, the UK has not delivered a complete military aircraft to Washington, despite its Tier 1 partnership in the F-35 program.
The RAF, meanwhile, has three E-7 Wedgetails on order, with deliveries set to begin in 2026. The type will replace the retired E-3D Sentry fleet and provide long-range detection of hostile aircraft, missiles, and drones.
Future in question
Despite the contract, uncertainty hangs over the program. Pentagon officials have since indicated they may cancel further Wedgetail procurement, arguing that large airborne command-and-control aircraft are increasingly vulnerable in contested environments. Instead, they favor shifting investment to space-based surveillance platforms such as the Air Moving Target Indicator (AMTI), supplemented by the smaller and more survivable E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.
However, the final word rests with Congress, which has so far resisted canceling the E-7A program. For now, the UK’s production of two Wedgetail prototypes for the USAF remains on track, marking a rare transatlantic reversal in defense industrial cooperation.
