The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced this Wednesday (15) the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail as its new early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. The new radar plane will replace the veteran E-3 Sentry AWACS starting in the next decade. 

Six E-7s were ordered by the US-led military alliance. United States as part of the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) program. Production of the new radar aircraft should begin in the coming years and the first aircraft is expected to be operational in 2031.

The acquisition, one of the largest in NATO history, was approved this month by a consortium formed by Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and the USA. According to the NATO Support and Acquisition Agency, the E-7 is the only system currently known capable of fulfilling the essential operational tasks of strategic commands.

“Surveillance and control aircraft are crucial to NATO’s collective defense”, stated the Secretary General of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg. “By pooling resources, Allies can collectively purchase and operate important assets that would be too expensive to acquire individually. This investment in cutting-edge technology shows the strength of transatlantic defense cooperation as we continue to adapt to a more unstable world.”

Converted from the Next-Generation 737-700, the E-7 is already operated by the air forces of Australia, Turkey and South Korea. They will take the place of 14 E-3A AWACS operated by the NATO Early Warning and Control Force. The E-3s are old 707s adapted for the role and operate from Germany by crews from several alliance countries.

As the years go by, the old E-3s are already showing signs of age. The US Air Force itself also purchased the Boeing E-7 to replace your E-3s. In NATO, they must write off from 2035. 

The E-7 can track multiple air and sea threats simultaneously, with 360-degree coverage via the MESA (Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array) radar, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. Capable of tracking 180 targets and conducting 24 interceptions simultaneously, MESA provides critical domain awareness to detect and identify adversary targets at long range, dynamically adjusting to emerging tactical situations, and can be used in electronic and signals intelligence missions. .