New early warning aircraft to be based in Scotland

[Zarvan]

An E-7 Wedgetail.
New early warning aircraft to be based in Scotland
By
George Allison

The new E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft will be based at RAF Lossiemouth, joining Typhoon fighter jets and P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The first of the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft are expected to arrive in 2023.

Minister of State for Defence, Baroness Goldie said:
“Scotland’s proximity to the waters and skies of the North Atlantic is of crucial importance to the UK’s and Nato’s security – this is why important military bases such as HMNB Clyde and RAF Lossiemouth are located here. Defence’s latest decision to base the E-7 Wedgetail at RAF Lossiemouth demonstrates our commitment to investing in Scotland, and will complement and will complement and expand upon the success of Typhoon fast jet and submarine hunting Poseidon operations.”

What is Wedgetail?
The E-7 Wedgetail is an Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft with maritime search capabilities, the ability to control unmanned aircraft and intelligence gathering capabilities.

The E-7 provides one of the most advanced air battlespace management capabilities in the world and the Royal Air Force have just purchased five of them.

The Wedgetail is based on a Boeing 737-700, with the addition of an advanced Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar and 10 mission crew console. They can cover four million square kilometres during a single 10 hour mission according to the Royal Australian Air Force.

New early warning aircraft to be based in Scotland (ukdefencejournal.org.uk)