LE BOURGET—With the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail facing a cancellation threat in the U.S., the airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) has demonstrated a new ability to control multiple uncrewed aircraft systems in flight to simulate the destruction of an airborne target, the company said June 16.
The event, a part of the Capability Demonstration 2025, from Woomera, South Australia, showed how the MQ-28A Ghost Bat can collaborate with the E-7A in aerial combat, rather than directly with crewed fighters.
“It not only validated a key element of the MQ-28 concept of operations, but also how collaborative combat aircraft can expand and enhance the role of the E-7A to meet future force requirements,” said Glen Ferguson, Boeing’s director of MQ-28 global programs.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) funded the development of the E-7A and the MQ-28A, with the latter produced and tested in Australia.
The RAAF and Boeing also plan to demonstrate the MQ-28A in collaborative operations with the two-seat Boeing F/A-18F and single-seat Lockheed Martin F-35A.
The demonstration was announced a week after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed to lawmakers that he intends to cancel the Air Force’s E-7A program, saying that the platform is no longer survivable on a modern battlefield and that the airborne early warning function is moving to satellites in orbit. The decision would see development of two prototype E-7As awarded in 2023 completed by Boeing, but would cancel plans to buy another 24 aircraft.
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