Boeing sees a role for both airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and satellites in the management of future air battles.
The company produces the E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, with two prototypes in production for the US Air Force (USAF), which plans to obtain up to 26 to replace the obsolescent Boeing E-3 Sentry.
A debate has emerged, however, about whether the USAF would be better served by eschewing traditional AEW&C aircraft and relying purely on satellites, which can also perform the airborne moving target indicator role.
Speaking with FlightGlobal recently in Singapore, Steve Parker, the interim president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space, & Security, said that the company is “very bullish” on the E-7A, noting the success of the type’s main operator, the Royal Australian Air Force.
“It’s a natural dialogue between what you can do from space, and what you can do from the air domain,” he says.
“Our view is that you need both. The E-7 isn’t just a node passing tracks, it’s a battle command station.”
Parker adds that Boeing does a great deal of work in the space business for the US government, which gives the company perspective on the interplay between air and space-based platforms.
“We just don’t think space is ready at the moment, and we do a lot of work in this area. We see it as being collaborative.”
FlightGlobal also asked Parker about the possibility that the aircraft’s Northrop Grumman multi-role electronically scanned-array (MESA) may be replaced. In April, the USAF issued a solicitation calling on industry to submit ideas for the integration of new or advanced capabilities for the E-7A, singling out interest in a possible MESA successor.
Parker sees this is an effort to garner ideas from industry, but believes this does not change Boeing’s immediate focus on delivering the first two prototypes for the USAF.
