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E-7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft makes UK maiden flight

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The UK’s first E-7 Wedgetail AEW Mk1 surveillance aircraft has taken to the sky for its maiden test flight.

E7 Wedgetail AEW Mk1 on first functional check flight
E7 Wedgetail AEW Mk1 on first functional check flight - Boeing & MOD Crown Copyright

The aircraft, one of three procured from Boeing by DE&S for the Royal Air Force, flew from Birmingham Airport where it underwent its initial build phase with STS Aviation.

Set to operate from RAF Lossiemouth, Wedgetail will act as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system and provide ‘eyes in the sky’ for at least 20 years.

Replacing the E-3D Sentry fleet, the E-7 detects and identifies targets at long range and tracks multiple airborne and maritime threats simultaneously with 360-degree coverage from the aircraft’s Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor.

The aircraft is based on a Boeing 737NG airliner but modified to carry Northrop Grumman’s active electronically-scanned radar. The E-7 Wedgetail modification programme has created more than 100 highly skilled jobs in the Birmingham area. Overall, the programme is expected to create 700 jobs across the UK, with over 300 of these already established.

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