E-7 Wedgetail Successor To AWACS Is A Must-Have For The Joint Force, The Sooner The B

[Peter1469]

AWACS is soon to be replaced. By the E-7 Wedgetail.

E-7 Wedgetail Successor To AWACS Is A Must-Have For The Joint Force, The Sooner The Better

One of the outstanding military innovations of the Cold War years was the E-3 Sentry radar plane, which could monitor airborne and maritime traffic over great distances from a modified BoeingBA -0.3% 707 commercial jetliner.



The E-3 is better known by its popular acronym, AWACS, which stands for “Airborne Warning And Control System.” As the phrase implies, it is more than just a flying radar—its onboard mission crew provides situational awareness to the entire joint force while managing engagements of hostile aircraft.




Those roles were sufficiently important that NATO bought 17 of the AWACS planes, while several key allies such as the United Kingdom and South Korea bought their own.



However, AWACS has grown so old that its availability has plummeted, and the head of the Air Combat Command describes the entire fleet of 31 planes as being in “hospice care.” He was quoted by InsideDefense.com saying, “Not even the finest maintainers on the planet can keep that thing in the air as often as we need it.”





An artist's conception of the E-7 Wedgetail in U.S. Air Force service.
WIKIPEDIA
In April of 2022, the Air Force announced the successor to AWACS, an evolved version of the Wedgetail radar plane that Boeing built for Australia’s military. Wedgetail is based on a militarized version of the 737 jetliner. The Air Force says it is the only solution that will deliver a sufficiently capable replacement of AWACS in an acceptable timeframe.


Boeing contributes to my think tank.


E-7, as the successor is designated, will be a far more efficient aircraft for finding, fixing, tracking and targeting hostile aircraft. For instance, it has two turbofan engines rather than the four on the E-3, and its radar does not need to be mechanically turned to surveil airspace—the multifunction radar’s beam is steered electronically, without any physical movement.

[carolina73]

I wonder how much the military can resist modifications that take it away from the 737 platform and having readily available parts.

[Peter1469]

I wonder how much the military can resist modifications that take it away from the 737 platform and having readily available parts.

I assume airframe and engine will remain true to the 737. That is the point of making this. The AWACs is based off the old 707 and parts for that are scare.