just be thankful they haven't painted it Red White & Blue

I'd hope we'd order a few more TBh

Agree, three is a pointless number, merely to satisfy the requirement to say that we have an AEW capability. In reality, we’ll be left wanting most of the time.

More than three would be good - I agree. However, the aircraft are allocated to the NATO AEW and Control Force tasked by NATO, and therefore numbers include the E-3A fleet at Geilenkirchen (which has also reduced since the 1990s), and therefore the force is viable (and shares boom tanker assets etc).

Are they allocated to, or are they the UK's contribution to? Because they are different things.

The former would suggest that they are indeed part of a bigger fleet, and so the 3 number isn't so important. The latter would suggest that they are a UK asset that we assign to the NATO mission as and when required, and so the 3 number means we probably aren't going to have too much slack to do that.

Love the high vis door markings on the low vis scheme!:}

its so the crew can find the way in on a dark day in NE Scotland

The UK Component of the AEW Force is routinely tasked by NATO, with all UK requests for AEW tasking having to go through the NATO tasking channel: the UK cannot just task an aircraft without permission from NATO. (Six of the 7 Sentries were allocated to NATO with the seventh as an in-use reserve. The NATO Tasking Allotment Group (TAG - used to be the Force Allotment Group, but the US members did not like being a member of FAG) meets quarterly and looks at AEW tasking requests and allots them accordingly amongst both the NATO Component at Geilenkirchen and the UK Component, formerly at Waddington and soon to be at Lossiemouth. At the moment, of course, all of NATO's AEW tasking falls to the Geilenkirchen squadrons with the UK Squadron joining in once it has reached IOC.

With one aircraft likely to be available at any time, I don't think future NATO taskings will be that 'routine' anymore.

​​​​​​​'Squadron' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

The TAG will allocate AEW missions in accordance with aircraft availability as they always have done. The RAF will not be able to task the aircraft without the say-so of NATO. It took quite a while for the RAF to realise this when the Sentry came into service over 30 years ago with senior officers regularly being told that they cannot ring the Squadron to demand an aircraft for their exercise and to go through NATO.
​​​​​​​

"With one aircraft likely to be available at any time," - and that will probably be booked for ministerial phot o ops, air shows etc

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.”…..

Yah right :rolleyes:​​​​​​​

Well you know, the MOD could "buy in" a couple of old BA737's and fair the cabin out to take the MESA's, after all the MOD were not averse to sourcing their MRTT's and Nimrods in this way. :ok:

​​​​​​​IG

and they'd only cost £ 1Bn each I'd expect :(

Seriously tho - buying only 3 E-7's is as bad a case of penny wise pond foolish as I've ever seen.

The procurement, which has been cut from five to three airframes, has sparked debate over the operational efficacy and value for money of the decision.

https://t.co/asfDWu2Ef1

US General raises concerns over reduced Wedgetail purchase

BA don’t have any 737’s and haven’t had any for quite a long time. All replaced by a very large fleet of Airbus A320’s.

5 for 3 radars fiasco really does sum up the complete and utter shambles that MoD procurement is.

Perhaps the RAAF would like them. With a loss limiting discount.

Did I hear a rumor that the MOD were insisting that the CFM’s be swapped out for Speys ? 😎

The US would be an option, they are getting the E-7. They would have them sooner and use as a test bed.

Must have loads of Speys in a warehouse somewhere originally ordered for Nimrods.