The US Air Force has awarded Boeing $2.43 billion in contracts to continue development work on the E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, signaling renewed momentum for the program.
Of the agreements, a $2.33-billion option exercise will fast-track the development of prototypes tied to the aircraft’s mission systems, which could potentially include sensors, radar, and battle management software.
The modification increases the contract’s cumulative value to about $4.91 billion, according to a US Department of Defense notice.
In a separate award, the air force issued a $99.3-million modification to address diminishing manufacturing sources for the aircraft’s Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array radar.
That change, which would replace or update components that are no longer in production to sustain the system’s development, raises the total contract value to approximately $5.01 billion.
Work under both agreements will take place primarily in Seattle, Washington, with additional activities in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Ohio.
The projects are scheduled to run through August 2032, with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, overseeing the contracts.
Program Comeback
The awards come after a US Air Force decision in June 2025 to cancel the E-7A program as the Pentagon shifted priorities from airborne surveillance platforms to space-based sensing systems.
Despite describing the E-7A as a “perfectly great platform,” officials said the department planned to focus on larger efforts to strengthen homeland defense and theater security in the Indo-Pacific.
The military selected the E-7A in 2022 to replace the aging E-3 Sentry for similar roles. That strategy originally planned to adopt a fleet of 26 aircraft from 2027 to 2032.
Amid the move, several US lawmakers warned that space-based sensors are not yet ready to replace airborne early warning aircraft, arguing the military still needs platforms such as the E-7 to maintain coverage until orbital systems mature.
