Britain appears ready to once again sole-source from
, this time to replace the E-3 Sentry airborne early warning capability (AEW&C).
Defense officials contend that the Australian Wedgetail version of the U.S. company’s 737-derived E-7 AEW&C platform “represents the best value for money,” to replace the
’s (RAF) E-3D Sentry aircraft.
However, the decision is likely to aggravate industry and British lawmakers, who had called on the Defense Ministry to compete such a program long before the official announcement on Oct. 3 that formal negotiations with Boeing and the
(RAAF) were underway. They had hoped to open the field to alternative platforms such as
’s GlobalEye or Israel’s Gulfstream G550-based conformal AEW platform.
In July, the chairman of the UK’s Parliamentary Defense Committee, Julian Lewis, noting British interest in the E-7, said that choosing a Boeing-made aircraft would be “particularly inappropriate,” following the company’s involvement in urging tariffs to be imposed on Bombardier’s C Series airliner last year. Had tariffs come to pass, they would have had a negative effect on Bombardier’s workforce in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Britain has already taken the decision to sole-source the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing despite other platforms being available. That decision was partly driven by the need to bring a new capability on stream quickly, closing a decade-long capability gap by the time the first aircraft is delivered in 2019.
And officials are likely to make the same argument for the E-7; RAF exchange officers are already serving with the Wedgetail community in Australia, gaining knowledge of the platform.
The Defense Ministry also points out that a procurement will help to bolster the UK’s defense relationship with Australia, which earlier this year announced it had selected the
-developed Type 26 warship.
“The Wedgetail is the standout performer in our pursuit of a new battlespace surveillance aircraft and has already proved itself in Iraq and Syria,” said British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson on Oct. 3, as he prepared to brief NATO counterparts on the plans in Brussels. “It could be an excellent asset for the RAF and give us a real edge in this increasingly complex world,” he added.
Defense officials say they will work closely with Boeing to ensure that UK industry will benefit from the deal, although this could be a minor crumb of comfort. British content on the P-8, for example, is approximately 5%: British companies supply crew seats, weapon pylons, auxiliary fuel tanks and cockpit windshields.
“We work with our UK supply chain, government and military partners to provide critical capability, UK content, UK exports, skills and value for money to our armed forces,” a spokesman for Boeing UK tells Aviation Week.
Boeing is investing in new facilities in Scotland to support the P-8s and plans to open an industrial base at Boscombe Down, England, although the latter has not yet been formally announced.
It is possible that British companies could be involved with the conversion and integration work in the same way Australian and Turkish industry were involved in the Wedgetail and Peace Eagle programs, respectively.
The E-7 is also in service with South Korea and has been selected for use by Qatar, too.
It is an open secret that the RAF has been flirting with the idea of an E-7 procurement for years.
several times about senior RAF officers who are known to have been extensively briefed on the E-7 by the manufacturer and the RAAF. The Australians were even requested by the defense ministry to bring the aircraft to the last two Royal International Air Tattoo air show events.
No details have yet emerged about the time line or budget for an E-7 purchase, or for the number of aircraft. Britain currently has six E-3D Sentry in its inventory but only one or two are operational at any one time.
Britain purchased seven E-3D Sentry aircraft at the end of the Cold War to replace the obsolete AEW radar-equipped Avro Shackleton. Although they are the youngest E-3s operating anywhere in the world, austerity measures imposed since the 2008 financial crisis have resulted in the aircraft and its onboard systems lagging far behind those operated by France, NATO and the U.S. Air Force.
This issue was recognized in the 2015 Strategic Defense and Security Review, which committed the government to a capability sustainment program to upgrade and extend the life of the aircraft to 2035, but the prohibitive cost of the program has officials rethinking this decision.
The airworthiness of the E-3s may also be a factor.
In October 2016, wiring issues prompted the grounding of the RAF E-3 fleet. It was later revealed that electrical wiring had sparked a fire in thermal blankets on one of the aircraft. Officials have compared the seriousness of the apparent near-loss of the aircraft to the crash of a Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft over Afghanistan in 2006, an event that prompted a wholesale review of military airworthiness standards and procedures. The issues with the E-3 have since been resolved, but availability of the fleet remains at a stubbornly low level.
Compared to the E-3, the E-7 is a more reliable platform, with reduced manpower requirements and a more capable—and future-proof—active, electronically scanned array radar produced by
.
There are also potential logistics chain benefits because the E-7 shares some commonality with the P-8, although these could be lessened if the British E-7s are developed from the
MAX 7 and its new engines.
However, the UK would lack the ability to refuel the E-7A because it is only equipped with a boom-refueling receptacle, and British tankers are not yet compatible with this system.
Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne says industry in his country would benefit from Britain’s purchase of the Wedgetail. And he notes that interoperability between the two nations—both of which, along with Canada, New Zealand and the U.S., are members of the Five Eyes security agreement—would be enhanced.
“A UK procurement will add to the global fleet of Wedgetails, already including Australia, Turkey and South Korea, which can be supported and sustained by Australian industry and create hundreds of Australian jobs,” Pyne says.
“Deeper engagement between both countries’ defense industries, including through increased exports and industry partnerships, will further strengthen our bilateral relationship with the UK.”
“Our future with Australia will already see us operate the same maritime patrol aircraft, world-class Type 26 warships and supersonic
jets,” Williamson says. “Wedgetail may join that formidable armory and help us work together to take on the global threats we both face.”
