Congress Poised to Save E-7 Wedgetail in New NDAA

Congress is getting closer to saving the E-7 Wedgetail from the Pentagon chopping block, with the House of Representatives preparing to pass the presumptive final version of the National Defense Authorization bill this week. 

Lawmakers announced Dec. 7 they had resolved the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, releasing a “conference” version. The House Rules Committee is considering the bill in a Dec. 9 afternoon session, a key procedural step before it heads to the floor. Multiple media outlets have reported a floor vote is planned for Dec. 10. 

One of the differences between the House and Senate bills that had to be resolved was what to do about the E-7.  

The Wedgetail is an airborne early warning and control aircraft the Air Force intended to replace the aging E-3 AWACS platform. The service awarded a $2.56 billion contract to Boeing in 2024 to build two prototype jets and had plans to buy 26 total. 

But as part of the 2026 budget request, the Pentagon canceled the program, with officials citing “significant delays with cost increases,” concerns about the fleet’s ability to operate in contested airspace, and belief that the E-7’s targeting mission could be transferred to Navy E-2D Hawkeye planes and new satellites. 

That prompted furious pushback from former Air Force leaders, including 16 former four-stars who locked arms in calling on Congress to save the program. 

Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees moved to do so as they crafted their annual policy bills this summer. 

The policy bill, often called the NDAA, authorizes—but does not appropriate—spending, and the committees significantly boosted authorized spending on the E-7. The Air Force had requested nearly $200 million in its budget for the Wedgetail, presumably to wind down the program. The House added $600 million for “continuation of rapid prototyping,” and the Senate added $700 million for “continued development and procurement.” 

The House also included a provision blocking the Air Force from terminating the E-7A prototyping contract or preparing to terminate any production lines associated with the Wedgetail in fiscal 2026. 

The new compromise bill adopts the House provisions blocking any terminations associated with the E-7. It also boosts the authorized spending by $649 million, using the Senate’s language of “continued development and procurement.” 

Taken together, the measures suggest lawmakers want the E-7 program to continue past the prototyping phase and into production. 

The moves build on provisions Congress included in its continuing resolution ending the government shutdown in November. While that bill kept spending levels mostly frozen at the previous year’s level, it did direct the Air Force to use Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation funds “up to the rate for operations necessary for the E–7 Wedgetail program, in an amount not to exceed $199,676,000, only for the purpose of continued rapid prototyping activities.” A second provision also directed that any funds remaining from E-7 procurement funding in fiscal 2025 be transferred to the RDT&E account “only for the purpose of continued rapid prototyping activities to maintain program schedule and transition to production for the E–7 Wedgetail program.”

While Congress has sought to protect the E-7, it’s worth noting the new NDAA still includes authorization to buy four new E-2D Hawkeyes, which the Pentagon had requested as a way to make up for the Wedgetail cancellation. The Senate version of the NDAA eliminated the E-2 purchases, while the House version trimmed the funding slightly but kept the four planes. The conference bill goes with the House plan. 

The new bill also authorizes the Pentagon’s full budget request of $1.06 billion for ground moving target indicator satellites, which the military sees as the future backbone of the targeting mission.