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Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, a spy plane the UK will operate this year. Other NATO countries will also operate similar aircraft. Photo/Boeing.co.uk
JAKARTA – The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail aircraft is part of the fleet that will operate for the Royal Air Force (RAF) this year.
According to Boeing, this aircraft is included in the most effective, reliable and sophisticated AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) platform in the world. With this claim of reliability, the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail is a candidate for NATO air spies for missions in various regions of the world.
The British Ministry of Defense announced in 2019 that this aircraft was selected to strengthen the RAF.
A year later, the British company Leonardo and Thales was lined up to develop an aircraft defense assistance system and add other advanced technologies.
Utilized by NATO, the Boeing E-7 has the ability to track air and maritime targets simultaneously.
The fleet is equipped with advanced combat weapons systems and is capable of powerful multi-domain surveillance, with networked battle management capabilities.
The Boeing E-7 has proven to be able to communicate effectively and can be used to make quick decisions to achieve mission objectives.
The wedgetail has previously been used by the Royal Australian Air Force in operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Australia is the first country to develop this aircraft, for the purposes of its Air Force.
Other countries, such as Turkey, South Korea and England, also use and develop this aircraft according to their needs.
According to Defense News, the United States (US) Air Force plans to replace the Boeing E-3 Sentry with the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail. The decision was made after the government conducted market research.
The result obtained is that the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail is the only fleet that meets all the requirements of the Ministry of Defense in tactical battle management and is good at tracking targets.
On the other hand, this replacement was made because the Boeing E-3 Sentry is also very old, which is around 50 years.
On research, development and testing projects, the US side budgeted USD 227 million.
In addition, NATO is reported to be acquiring this aircraft for the “eye in the sky” or “eyes in the sky” program. This plan seems to have been discussed, but NATO has not yet decided what further action will be taken.
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