At the center of the report’s criticism of
the procurement is the fact that, as a result of a contract stipulation, the MoD is having to pay for all five Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radars, even though only three aircraft — which will be designated Wedgetail AEW1 in RAF service — are being acquired.
The report assesses that the total cost of the three-aircraft order will be $2.5 billion, compared to the $2.7 billion agreed for five of the radar planes.
“Even basic arithmetic would suggest that ordering three E-7s rather than five (at some 90 [percent] of the original acquisition cost) represents extremely poor value for money,” the report contends.
The E-7 procurement is one of three major defense deals dealt with
by the report, which comes at the end of a six-month inquiry. The
Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigate for the Royal Navy and the
Ajax armored fighting vehicle for the British Army also come in for criticism. Worryingly, the overall conclusion is that the U.K.’s defense procurement system is “broken” and that “multiple, successive reviews have not yet fixed it.”
Returning to the E-7 specifically, the Defense Committee points out that a three-aircraft fleet will also make them even more vulnerable to potential adversaries during conflicts. The report suggests that the tiny fleet will be a “prize target” for aggressors. Not only will the AEW&C aircraft play a critical role in any high-end air campaign, but also planes of this type are increasingly under threat from long-range air defenses and are far from survivable in any kind of contested airspace.
The U.K. Defense Committee is currently preparing a report on aviation procurement that “will likely examine the operational impact and alleged life-cycle savings” that come from buying three rather than five E-7s.
As it now stands, the three radar planes are undergoing conversion with STS Aviation Services in Birmingham, England. Here, the jets are transformed from commercial 737 airframes into fully equipped E-7s, with the MESA radar at the center of their mission suite.
Noteworthy is the fact that the first of the RAF E-7s will be a converted 737-700 Boeing Business Jet last operated by a Chinese airline.
The choice of this 10-year-old, formerly Chinese-operated airframe has led to come concern, including from former high-ranking RAF officers.