The first of three Boeing E-7/E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft for the RAF was shown for the first time with its livery on 18 October 2024. (Crown Copyright)
Crew members preparing to receive the UK Royal Air Force's (RAF's) three new Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft have told Janes of limitations that will affect how they operate them.
The RAF's No 8 Squadron will receive the three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth, with the first expected to enter service in December 2025, and with initial operating capability (IOC) planned for four to six months later. An estimated out of service (OOS) date has been set for 2042.
In March 2021 as part of the UK government's Integrated Review, the number of E-7 airframes was cut down from five to three.
Speaking at the RAF's Air and Space Combat Power event held at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in March, two members of No 8 Squadron told Janes that the smaller pool of aircraft has reduced the time they can be on missions.
“When we were getting five aircraft this would have been 24 hours coverage. With three aircraft we can only do eight hours. And so the loss of five to three essentially loses you that 24-hour persistence,” the squadron members said.
In comparison with the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) E-7 Wedgetails, which make use of the Starlink wideband satellite communication (satcom) links, the RAF's Wedgetails will use the Iridium SATCOM constellation, and as plans stand they will have no data feed to and from the UK's current or future wider band Skynet constellation, the squadron members added.
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