Boeing Receives U.S. Air Force E-7 Airborne & Proposes T-7 Advanced Trainer for Australia

Boeing will begin the development of two new U.S. variants of the E-7 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft through a $1.2 billion Undefinitized Contract Action.

The E-7 provides a fully integrated, combat-proven, flexible command and control node that delivers multi-domain awareness in the most challenging operational environments. The E-7’s open systems architecture and agile software design enable the aircraft‘s capabilities to evolve and remain ahead of future threats.

The E-7 tracks multiple airborne and maritime threats simultaneously with 360-degree coverage via the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor. MESA provides the warfighter with critical domain awareness to detect and identify adversarial targets at long range and dynamically adjusts to emerging tactical situations. Other E-7 operators include the Royal Australian Air Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, Turkish Air Force and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force.

FAA Proposes $1.1M Fine Against United Airlines(Opens in a new browser tab)

The E-7 uses a well-established supply chain which significantly reduces maintenance and logistics costs and increases mission readiness on day one. Converted from the Next-Generation 737-700, the E-7 capitalizes on existing commercial derivative aircraft design, certification and modification processes, allowing E-7s to be fielded to meet Air Force needs.

And also Boeing is ready to offer its T-7 advanced trainer to Australia to help ensure the mission-readiness of the country’s future defense pilots. The T-7 is a new cost-effective system combining a trainer aircraft with a ground-based simulator to replace older trainers.

The T-7 could be used to train future Australian pilots of F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, F-35s and other defense aircraft using live and ‘as real-as-it-gets’ virtual simulation. The announcement was made during the Avalon 2023 Australian International Airshow, where Boeing brought a T-7 simulator for customer demonstrations.

The T-7’s digital open architecture and reconfigurable cockpit means the trainer/simulator can be updated rapidly for decades to come.