Pentagon Review Threatens E-7A Acquisition Plan, Sources Say

The U.S. Air Force plan to buy 26 Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft faces a cancellation threat as the U.S. Defense Department finalizes the fiscal 2026 budget request, sources say.

The internal debate focuses around Pentagon proposals to cancel the E-7A budget and rely on satellites to perform the airborne moving target indicator (AMTI) radar function, sources tell Aviation Week.

But the proposal faces resistance within the Air Force based on the necessity of the battle management and command and control (BMC2) function, sources say.

An Air Force official said talks are continuing with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) over the E-7A.

“We are continuing to work with OSD on the E-7A Wedgetail program throughout the development of the fiscal 2026 budget request,” the official said.

A glimpse inside the internal debate arose during a hearing attended by Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, at the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee on May 6

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the Appropriations Committee’s Republican chairman who represents a district that includes the home of the Boeing E-3A at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, asked Allvin to comment on whether there is still a need for E-7As until a space-based AMTI capability becomes operational.

Allvin acknowledged that aircraft like the E-3A and E-7A face greater risks in modern warfare to perform the AMTI mission, which uses a top-mounted radar to detect and track hostile aircraft and missiles.

But Allvin emphasized that the BMC2 (battle management command and control) mission of the E-3A and E-7A must continue to be performed. In addition to the flight crew, a staff of 10 air battle managers flies aboard an E-7A, interpreting the radar data in real time and directing friendly aircraft.

Satellites are not yet capable of performing the full scope of the mission of an airborne early warning and control aircraft, he said.

“We have to do more than just sense. We have to sense, make sense and act,” Allvin told the committee. “And right now, the E-7 is the platform that delivers what the E-3 can with greater capability.”

The Air Force signed a $2.56 billion contract with Boeing in August to convert two 737-700 aircraft into prototypes of the E-7A. The Air Force still plans for Boeing to deliver two E-7A prototypes in fiscal 2028.

Boeing plans to achieve a first flight of the U.S. Air Force version of the E-7A in the “coming months,” a company spokesman said.

“We look forward to supporting the U.S. Air Force on the long-term evolution of the platform capabilities and fleet mission,” the Boeing spokesman added.

The debate erupted amidst a broader review of the joint air battle management portfolio by the Pentagon’s Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation office last winter. In written testimony submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee in February for his nomination, Navy Secretary John Phelan said the study would define requirements for joint air battlement in a “high-end fight.”

One of the options in the study included making new investments in land-based Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, a turboprop-powered aircraft that performs the AEW&C mission from Navy carriers, Phelan said.