Originally Posted by
Harley Quinn
If it's so wonderful why are the Australians spending 'large amounts of money upgrading'?
Consider that the reason the UK E-3D's are being replaced rather than upgraded as the NATO and US E-3s are being upgraded is because they failed to keep up with upgrades over the years so that it's now cheaper to replace them than upgrade them. Electronic systems have a short life span in terms of obsolescence and the original Wedgetails use technology that is now over a decade old. Obsolescence, lessons learned from actual operations, and changing requirements/threats drive constant upgrades.