A pair of prototype Boeing E-7A airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) jets on order for the US Air Force (USAF) will undergo modification work in the UK, taking advantage of an existing industrial capability.
Announcing the arrangement on 18 September, as US President Donald Trump completed a state visit to the UK, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said two 737s will undergo modification at a site in Birmingham, where STS Aviation Services is already working on a trio of E-7A Wedgetails for the UK Royal Air Force (RAF).
After arriving in the UK, the “green” NG-model narrowbodies will undergo extensive work, including the installation of the Wedgetail’s distinctive Northrop Grumman MESA radar, mounted above the fuselage.
The MoD says the deal will bring £36 million ($48 million) into the UK economy, and also will support 340 jobs, including 150 new positions.
“This deal is a vote of confidence in Britain’s world-leading defence industry and delivers on the commitments set out in our Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy,” defence secretary John Healey says.
“The deal benefits both UK and US national security… building skills among the workforce while ensuring military operations are more coordinated as a result of using the same systems,” he adds.
Notably, the MoD announcement states that the USAF assets will undergo a “final assembly and check out” process in the USA following their preparation in the UK. That activity is likely to include the installation of further US-specific equipment.
Boeing is under contract to deliver two E-7As under a rapid prototyping effort for the USAF. The service has previously outlined a need to field 26 operational examples, although the Trump administration has targeted the project for potential cancellation, favouring the future use of space-based sensors.
The airframer earlier this year released images of the lead USAF platform undergoing final assembly in Renton, Washington.
It has previously said that the USAF’s E-7 configuration will be a further evolution of the system set to enter service in the UK, and already operational with the air forces of Australia, South Korea and Turkey.
The MoD describes its future Wedgetail AEW1s as to “form a vital cornerstone of the UK’s national defence by using radar and sensors to detect incoming hostile aircraft, missiles, or drones”. It cites a radar performance of 260nm (480km), without providing further details.
“The Royal Air Force’s own fleet of E-7 Wedgetail aircraft are currently being fitted out at the modification facility in Birmingham ahead of delivery of the first aircraft in 2026,” the MoD says.
A first example made its debut public appearance during the Royal International Air Tattoo in mid-July, flying in formation with the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatic display team.
