Boeing has completed the first flight of the UK’s E-7 Wedgetail, marking a significant step in the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) program. The milestone took place at Birmingham Airport, where Boeing’s flight-test crew carried out critical functional checks on the aircraft. This flight represents an important development in the ongoing test and evaluation phase of the program.
The modified 737-700ER NG currently unpainted, is one of three transformed by a dedicated team of over 100 engineers at STS Aviation Services in Birmingham. According to Boeing, the E-7 Wedgetail is designed to provide advanced AEW&C capabilities to the RAF, enabling it to detect, identify, and track multiple airborne and maritime threats simultaneously with 360-degree coverage via the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor.
«This safe and systematic Functional Check Flight is an important step for Boeing and the RAF as part of our rigorous and extensive testing and evaluation,» said Stu Voboril, Boeing vice president and E-7 program manager. «Our team is committed to ensuring the E-7 delivers the safety, quality, and capabilities we’ve promised to our customer as we prepare for the delivery of the UK’s first E-7 Wedgetail.»
Group Captain Richard Osselton, RAF Programme Director for Wedgetail, emphasized the collaborative effort between the RAF, Boeing, and STS Aviation, stating: «Achieving the first flight of Wedgetail is a significant milestone… We will now build on this success and look forward to continuing the Test & Evaluation phase as part of our preparations for the aircraft to enter into service.»
Richard Murray, Director of Air Support at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), also highlighted the achievement, calling it «a hugely complex endeavor» and confirming that the program is moving forward as planned to deliver the E-7’s capabilities to the RAF.
The E-7 is already in service with the Royal Australian Air Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the Turkish Air Force. Boeing is also building two prototypes for the U.S. Air Force, and in 2023, NATO selected the E-7 for its AEW&C mission. These developments position the E-7 as a critical asset in multi-domain awareness and command-and-control operations globally.
Later this year, the aircraft will proceed to a paint facility to receive its official RAF livery. Once operational, the UK E-7 fleet will be based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
