Pentagon Finds $1.55B for E-7 Wedgetail, Mostly in Classified Budget

The Pentagon is asking to shift money from the Navy’s E-2D Hawkeye and classified Air Force accounts to fund a $1.55 billion spending plan for its revived E-7 Wedgetail program in fiscal 2027, according to budget amendments submitted to Congress last week. 

But the request does not lay out a long-term plan for the airborne targeting and battle management platform, which is intended to replace the iconic E-3 AWACS. 

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told the House Armed Services Committee in May that a budget amendment was coming “in the ballpark of around $1.5 billion.” Now, in a June 17 letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), the White House Office of Management and Budget has indicated where those funds would come from: $651 million from the Navy’s “Aircraft Procurement” account and $899 million from the Air Force’s “Other Procurement” account, for a combined $1.55 billion for the Wedgetail. 

An Air Force spokesperson did not offer further detail on the Air Force funds, telling Air & Space Forces Magazine that “the budgeting process requires funding evaluation and prioritization of budget items.” But according to a report accompanying its proposed 2027 spending bill, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee indicated the Air Force would transfer funds “from the Special Update Program in Other Procurement, Air Force.” That line item covers classified Special Access Programs, among the service’s most secretive projects. The $899 million being moved represents 17.6 percent of that account.  

The other $651 million would come from Navy’s E-2D Hawkeye, which resembles the E-3 AWACS in a smaller package. The turboprop airborne battle management aircraft is designed to defend the aircraft carrier strike group and can also be used for aerial refueling. But it lacks the range, crew, and full capability of the larger AWACS and E-7 platforms. The Pentagon proposed a year ago to end the E-7 program and use additional E-2Ds in the interim while waiting for space-based moving target indicator capabilities to mature. The Navy had asked for $2.08 billion to buy six aircraft in 2027. 

House appropriators have questioned the E-2D cut, however, and added $651 million back to restore the Navy’s planned purchases.

“While the committee wholly supports the E-7 program and funding realignment, the committee also restored the E-2D program to six aircraft for fiscal year 2027,” the report states. “The committee understands the operational necessity of the E-2D platform; the complementary nature of the E-2D and E-7; and believes that more aircraft, not fewer, are necessary to support our warfighters now and in the future.” 

Notably, the $1.55 billion for E-7 is not for additional aircraft, but rather to ensure work continues on two prototypes and five initial aircraft, dubbed “engineering, manufacturing, and development” jets that were previously contracted. 

According to a Boeing spokesperson, the 737 airframes for the two prototypes are being modified now in the United Kingdom, including the Wedgetail’s distinctive oblong multirole electronically scanned array radar, which sits atop the aircraft. The radar has a range in excess of 400 kilometers. It is unclear if work has yet begun on the additional five EMD aircraft. 

After those seven jets, the future remains murky. The Air Force originally planned to buy 26 E-7s, but since then the Pentagon has tried to cut and since revived the effort. House lawmakers remain concerned about that lack of detail.  

“The Secretary of the Air Force is directed to brief the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees, concurrently with the transmission of the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2028, on the full E–7 acquisition strategy, to include required quantity; funding requirements across the future years defense program; and schedules for development and production,” the report states.