It is upping the rate of its E-7 Wedgetail aircraft production to six yearly in efforts towards meeting global demand for advanced early warning systems. This is an urgent requirement, says Stu Voboril, the manager in charge of the E-7 program, as aging airframes like the E-3 AWACS head for retirement from service. “We’re working towards getting to a capacity of six per year. That’s where we think we need to be,” he said, underlining the critical gap left by the retiring AWACS fleets.
In all, the US Air Force has ordered 26 Wedgetails, with the first two prototypes due in 2027 and the full fleet in 2032. NATO ordered at least six E-7s, the first arriving in 2031. The Royal Air Force wants to finish its three E-7s, despite delays attributed to poor contractor performance and supply chain issues.
The E-7, a military derivative of Boeing’s 737 Next Generation commercial jet, will be built in Renton, Wash. alongside the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon. One of the most key components on the jet is Northrop Grumman’s Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar, which has contributed to several production hiccups; however, Northrop Grumman is ramping up to produce six MESAs a year.
Meanwhile, Oshkosh Defense has just been awarded a $1.54 billion contract for the Army’s FHTV over the next five years. Pat Williams, chief programs officer at Oshkosh Defense, expressed pride in continued collaboration with the Army and said they will make sure the vehicles delivered are high-performance ones with advanced technologies and safety features.
The FHTV fleet includes the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), Palletized Load System (PLS), and the Heavy Equipment Transporter, which was designed to transport the Abrams main battle tank. Oshkosh intends to upgrade the fleet with focused improvements to increase the life of the vehicles and lower operating costs.
The Army’s budgetary plans indicate the procurement of 195 heavy tactical trucks in FY-2025, declining to 99 vehicles by FY-2029. Meanwhile, the Army is conducting testing with prototypes of the Common Tactical Truck drive-by-wire truck that may eventually replace the HEMTT and PLS-said to feature predictive maintenance.
It also receives a modification to the existing contract worth $29.7M to support the design, development, integration, and sustainment of training devices in direct support of F-35 training systems distributed mission training for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and international partners. The work will be performed in Orlando, Fla, and Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 2026.
In the Middle East, Iranian Revolutionary Guards have armed their navy with long-range missiles and drones amid increased regional tension. The move comes weeks after Israel was blamed for killing a leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Tehran.
As the military landscape changes in various parts of the world, strategic moves by Boeing, Oshkosh, and Lockheed Martin further raise the profile of advanced technology and never-before-seen production levels as key ingredients in keeping defenses ready and at an operational edge.