First RAF Wedgetail receives livery ahead of delivery

The RAF will operate three E-7A Wedgetail AEW1 aircraft, the first of which was recently rolled out wearing its full 8 Squadron livery for the first time. (Crown Copyright)

The first of three Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning Mk 1 (AEW1) aircraft for the United Kingdom has been rolled out in its Royal Air Force (RAF) livery.

Aircraft 01 (military serial number WT001) was rolled out of the paint shop at London Southend Airport in southern England on 18 October, wearing for the first time the markings of 8 Squadron that will operate the type from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

“The VIII [8] Squadron badge, a sheathed Arabian dagger known as a jambiya, was adopted in recognition of the squadron's long association with Arabia. The weapon is sheathed to symbolise the squadron's guardian duties and was approved by King George VI in December 1943,” the RAF said.

As noted in the announcement, as well as receiving its RAF livery WT001, it is also adorned with the markings of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&CF). As with the retired Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1s, the Wedgetails will form the UK's contribution to the NAEW&CF, which is headquartered at NATO Air Base (NAB) Geilenkirchen in Germany.

Conversion of the three 737 NG airframes into Wedgetail AEW1 platforms began in November 2020, with the fuselage sections for the first two aircraft being inducted into STS Aviation Services' line in Birmingham, England. The third fuselage entered the line in July 2022. This conversion process involves the mating of the Northrop Grumman Multirole Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar with the aircraft, as well as the fitting of the mission and military systems.