The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, also marketed as the Boeing 737 AEW&C, is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft originally designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Based on the design of the Boeing 737 Next Generation, it has a fixed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar antenna rather than a rotating one like that of the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry. [2] [3] The E-7 was designed for the RAAF under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.
The 737 AEW&C has also been selected by the Turkish Air Force (under "Project Peace Eagle", Turkish: Barış Kartalı, designated E-7T), [4] the Republic of Korea Air Force ("Project Peace Eye", 피스아이) and the United Kingdom (designated Wedgetail AEW Mk1).
The United States Air Force (USAF) had previously announced that the E-7 would replace the E-3 starting in 2027, but in June 2025 the Department of Defense announced that it planned to cancel the purchase in favor of space solutions, including the proposed Golden Dome and the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. [5] [6] [7] In the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026 passed by the United States Congress in November 2025, additional funding was allocated to keep E-7 development on track
