In a major advancement for the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) airborne surveillance capabilities, Boeing has successfully completed the first flight of the UK’s E-7 Wedgetail, marking a significant milestone in the program’s test and evaluation phase.

The flight, conducted by a Boeing flight-test crew, took place at Birmingham Airport and involved a series of functional checks on the aircraft, confirming its operational readiness.

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Currently unpainted, the aircraft is one of three Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) planes undergoing modification at Birmingham by a dedicated team of more than 100 skilled engineers from STS Aviation Services. This phase involves transforming the aircraft into a state-of-the-art airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform.

The E-7 Wedgetail stands out as a combat-proven asset capable of detecting and identifying adversarial targets at long range while simultaneously tracking multiple airborne and maritime threats. Its Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor provides 360-degree coverage, granting the RAF a critical command-and-control advantage in multi-domain operations.

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The aircraft will eventually be stationed at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, where preparations are already underway to support the E-7 fleet’s induction, with Boeing’s local suppliers and contractors nearing completion of the necessary infrastructure. The UK E-7 fleet is set to provide a considerable boost to the RAF’s situational awareness and operational capabilities.

Furthermore, the RAF’s involvement in a tri-lateral partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) will enhance the interoperability, capability development, evaluation, testing, sustainment, and training of the Wedgetail platform, ensuring seamless integration and operation across allied forces.

Currently, the E-7 is operated by the RAAF, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the Turkish Air Force. Boeing is also building two rapid prototype E-7 aircraft for the USAF, and in 2023, NATO selected the E-7 to fulfill its Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) mission, underscoring the aircraft’s growing prominence in global defense networks.

This expanding global E-7 fleet not only ensures mission readiness and interoperability but also provides significant lifecycle cost advantages. Later this autumn, following extensive flight testing and evaluations, the aircraft will head to a paint facility to receive its distinctive RAF livery, symbolizing its formal integration into the UK’s defense fleet.

This milestone highlights Recently boeing 797 continued commitment to delivering cutting-edge defense solutions and marks a new chapter for the RAF’s airborne surveillance capabilities.