Wedgetail Progress

[Going Boeing]

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(Seattle, January 15, 2009) -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced it has completed the first aerial refuelings of a 737 platform. The historic flights were conducted for Project Wedgetail, Australia's airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program.

Flying at 25,000 feet above Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Jan. 7, Boeing pilot Ron Johnston maneuvered the 737-700 AEW&C aircraft into a U.S. Air Force KC-10 tanker's refueling boom envelope and easily maintained its position below the tanker. The 737 received approximately 14,000 pounds of fuel during two connections with the tanker.

"The aircraft was stable, with excellent flying qualities and engine response behind the tanker," said Johnston.

The aircraft achieved another aerial-refueling first on Jan. 10, when it received fuel from an Air Force KC-135 tanker.

"The 737 AEW&C aircraft's highly automated and efficient refueling system worked flawlessly in both tests," said Maureen Dougherty, AEW&C Program vice president for Boeing. "This is a key milestone in certifying the AEW&C system.

"Air-to-air refueling is a force multiplier for the AEW&C aircraft," Dougherty added, "allowing it to stay on station for significantly longer periods of time while providing critical battle-management and surveillance capabilities."

Source : Boeing

Can anyone give an update of the Radar/Avionics progress? GB

[Flight Detent]

Must be progressing pretty well, they are going to be delivering a couple of 'em to the RAAF later this year!

Cheers...FD...:ok:

[Aussie]

Yeah later this year if there are no further delays!

[Going Boeing]

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(Seattle, March 10, 2009) -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered an operational flight trainer (OFT) to Australia for the Project Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program. The OFT, which the customer accepted on Feb. 27, is the first segment of the Wedgetail program to be delivered to Australia.

The Wedgetail aircraft is a derivative of the commercial 737-700 and the OFT is based on the proven technology of the Next-Generation 737 simulator platforms. The motion-based flight simulator was designed, built and installed by Thales and managed under a subcontract by Boeing Defence Australia.

The OFT is customized to account for the unique characteristics of the Wedgetail AEW&C system, including controls for the communication, aerial-refueling and Electronic Warfare Self Protection systems.

"Delivering the OFT is a major step forward in the program because it enables the training of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots in anticipation of delivery of the first two Wedgetail aircraft later this year," said Maureen Dougherty, Boeing vice president, AEW&C Program.

Prior to delivery, the OFT passed a series of certification tests and was awarded zero flight time status, the highest level of accreditation under Australian standards. This accreditation allows experienced pilots to train using this type of simulator instead of an actual aircraft.

RAAF pilots have used the OFT since October 2007 to familiarize themselves with the Wedgetail AEW&C flight deck and to develop training scenarios.

The simulator was installed at the Wedgetail AEW&C Support Center at RAAF base Williamtown.

Source : Boeing

[Loiter1]

Don't be fooled. Delivered doesn't mean mission capable by a long shot. All it means is that the project is so FUBAR that the RAAF will take the aircraft and try to get the radar/mission suite to work while the crews fly the aircraft. They did the same thing with the AP3 and it a sign of how much trouble this project is in that they are willing to take delivery when Boeing has obviously underperformed so badly. Getting a sim delivered and doing some air to air refueling is the least of their problems.:(

[Torqueman]

There is an interesting article in this months Australian Aviation Mag out in the shops now. Quite an informative read.

[wessex19]

source AAP;
Australia's troubled Boeing Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW and C) aircraft have demonstrated the ability to simultaneously control three unmanned drone aircraft.

In a trial conducted in the United States last month, operators aboard the RAAF aircraft flying over Washington state remotely flew three ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The airborne operators issued NATO-standard sensor and flight control commands by way of a UHF satellite communication link and ground-station relay.

Boeing will conduct another demonstration of this capability at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW, next month with a Wedgetail controlling ScanEagles operated by Boeing Defence Australia personnel at Woomera, South Australia , 1,730km away.

Pierce Lutter, Boeing associate technical fellow for unmanned vehicle control systems, said this would have been a considerable achievement if conducted in a laboratory setting.

"But we used currently fielded platforms and systems in a real-world setting to demonstrate a new level of command-and-control capability for war fighters," he said in a statement.

Under the $3.45 billion Wedgetail program, Australia is buying six Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, each equipped with an advanced radar able to watch over a 400km radius, directing fighters to any threat.

The project has faced significant delays because of technical problems with the radar.

Under the original delivery schedule, the RAAF was to receive its first Wedgetails in November 2006. Under a new deed of agreement with Boeing , the first aircraft will arrive this November to begin aircrew training. It will have limited operational capability.

The remaining aircraft are scheduled to arrive by mid-2010 with full capability.

During his visit to the US this week for the annual Australia-US Ministerial talks (AUSMIN), Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will hold talks with US company Northrop Grumman on Wedgetail radar progress.

Australia troops employed ScanEagle drones in Iraq and currently do so in Afghanistan .

Maureen Dougherty, Boeing vice-president in charge of the AEW and C program, said the ability to remotely control ScanEagle substantially increased the operational versatility of Wedgetail.

She said it also demonstrated that operational 737 AEW and C systems were robust enough to allow integration of future capabilities.

In the test last month, three ScanEagles were launched from Boeing's Boardman Test Facility in eastern Oregon, about 190km away from the airborne Wedgetail.

Operators tasked them with area search, reconnaissance, point surveillance and targeting.

[Lodown]

I'll be impressed if they can launch the ScanEagles from the Wedgetails or F-18/111's in flight.
Can anybody tell that I don't have a clue about the ScanEagles?

[Old Fella]

Just had my first look at Post #1 in this thread. The photograph shows a KC-135 tanker with the Wedgetail. Wish the RAAF had retrofitted the B707 with CFM56's as the USAF has done with the KC-135.

[Point0Five]

Why on earth would you wish that?

Aircraft have finite lives and there, inevitably, will always be a point where you just have to put them to bed and move on.

Trust me, the USAF aren't still operating KC-135s by choice!

[Engineer_aus]

The RAAF 707's go into heavy maintenance for a 3 month layup and come out over a year. There is that much corrosion and cracks etc it just was not worth it.

[Going Boeing]

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The Boeing Company announced today that it has successfully completed tests of the Counter Measures Dispenser System (CMDS) for Project Wedgetail, Australia's Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system. The tests were conducted in September and October off the Washington coast and over Puget Sound, Wash.

Completion of CMDS testing is a key step toward verification of the Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft's overall Electronic Warfare Self-Protection (EWSP) capability. EWSP is designed to warn aircrews about and protect against missiles targeting the aircraft. The CMDS responds to threats by releasing chaff and flares to decoy incoming missiles away from the aircraft. Boeing and its industry supplier, BAE Systems, developed and integrated the CMDS system.

Testing included 19 flights that dispensed more than 500 units of chaff and flares. The AEW&C team collected data via five high-speed video cameras mounted on the Wedgetail aircraft and an additional video camera attached to a T-33 chase plane.

"The testing program verified that the Boeing-installed self-protection system will effectively counter its intended threats reliably and safely," said Kermit Hollinger, Electronic Warfare manager for Boeing AEW&C Programs. "This milestone is the latest example of Boeing's ability to integrate military systems onto commercial aircraft and provide our customers with low-risk, cost-effective solutions to their operational requirements."

Project Wedgetail includes six 737 AEW&C aircraft plus ground support segments for mission crew training, mission support and system maintenance.

The 737 AEW&C aircraft, based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 commercial airplane, is designed to provide airborne battle-management capability with an advanced multirole electronically scanned radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles. Able to track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously, the mission crew can direct offensive and defensive forces while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.

Source : The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)