FighterControl

A seismic shift has occurred in the Trump administration’s new defense spending plan that is just emerging when it comes to the USAF’s airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) predicament. The service’s E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft are dwindling in number and rapidly aging into unsupportability. The proven and in-production E-7 Wedgetail, based on the Boeing 737 and serving with multiple allies, was supposed to bridge the gap between the E-3’s retirement and pushing the sending part of the mission to space-based distributed satellite constellations. You can read all about this here. Now, if the administration gets its wish, that won’t happen. The E-7 will be cancelled and the E-2D Hawkeye, currently flown by the U.S. Navy, will step in to fill the gap.

Sw wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 12, 2025 11:35 am

The first two are on the production line so we should get in quick we have a radar already.So it not a major cost.

Freeman Lowell wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 12, 2025 12:48 pm

Sw wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 12, 2025 11:35 am

The first two are on the production line so we should get in quick we have a radar already.So it not a major cost.

Serious question to any knowledgeable person out there - Do we still have those two spare radars or did we flog them off on the cheap?
Thanks,
Freeman

The remaining two MESA radars are in production with Northrop Grumman and will be delivered to the RAF in Summer 2025.

Parts from the radars originally planned for aircraft four and five will be retained for spares allowing a saving /offset of initial procurement and future sustainment requirements from the overall programme cost.

jd4781 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 13, 2025 1:01 pm

The two radars, or parts of them, will be kept for spares.

https://questions-statements.parliament ... 1-22/25650

The remaining two MESA radars are in production with Northrop Grumman and will be delivered to the RAF in Summer 2025.

https://questions-statements.parliament ... 2-25/33396

Parts from the radars originally planned for aircraft four and five will be retained for spares allowing a saving /offset of initial procurement and future sustainment requirements from the overall programme cost.