https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-f...dgetail-order/
UK forced to pay for five radars despite cutting Wedgetail order
In October 2018, the British Government began negotiations with Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force regarding the potential replacement of its E-3D fleet with the E-7 Wedgetail.A $1.98 billion deal was signed in March 2019 by then Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, confirming the purchase of five E-7 Wedgetails, which would be designated as Wedgetail AEW1.
However, recent developments reveal that the UK must fulfill payment for all five RADAR systems, even though its order has been reduced from five to three aircraft.
The March 2021 Defence Command Paper, titled ‘Defence in a Competitive Age,’ stated that the UK’s order would be scaled down to three aircraft. This reduction could frequently result in the availability of only one aircraft for operational tasking.…
A recent Parliamentary Written Question has disclosed that the UK remains contractually obligated to pay for all five MESA radars that were initially ordered for the E-7 Wedgetail programme.
Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, raised a question regarding the matter, inquiring, “
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is contractually obliged to pay for all five MESA radars originally ordered for the UK E-7 Wedgetail programme.”
James Cartlidge, The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, responded to Francois’ query, providing an explanation: “At the time of the Integrated Review decision to reduce the scope of the UK E-7 Wedgetail programme from five to three aircraft, the MESA (Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array) radars for aircraft four and five were in production. It was decided that production and delivery of all five MESA radars would continue as planned, allowing a saving/offset of initial procurement and sustainment spares from the overall programme cost.”…..