Hegseth says E-7 Wedgetail ‘has a future,’ reversing planned cancellation
The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail previously faced the axe under the Trump administration, but pressure from lawmakers and a new “mindset” at the Pentagon have revived its prospects.
Air Force strategy to protect aircraft was designed for China. Will it work for Iran?
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US had "maxed out" its defensive posture, but Iran managed to strike US aircraft in Saudi Arabia anyway.
Satellites at the center: Inside the Pentagon’s next-gen space architecture
From emerging data networks to missile tracking and cyber resilience, Breaking Defense’s latest eBook brings together essential reporting on the evolving role of satellites in national security.
Iran shows the emerging crisis of the US airborne battle management fleet
The aircraft that help orchestrate US air operations are in high demand, short supply and nearing a breaking point while the need for early warning and battle management is growing.
Following congressional rebuke, Air Force awards E-7 contracts
The new awards procure an undisclosed number of developmental aircraft and address diminishing manufacturing sources for the plane’s radar.
With funding flush, Space Force hopes to speed satellites to track aircraft, missiles
Gen. Chance Saltzman, Space Force chief, said the work already done to design a satellite system for tracking ground targets should also help speed AMTI capabilities to orbit.
EXCLUSIVE: SDA eyeing airborne target tracking satellites demonstration, says Tournear
"I would say that we are at the point now where the technology has matured and it's commoditized, so that radar based AMTI from space is feasible," outgoing SDA Director Derek Tournear told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview.
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Voyager is fortifying the U.S. Defense supply chain
Answering the Pentagon’s call to bolster defense industrial base.
Space Force launching sats to ‘enable’ GMTI ahead of mission-dedicated birds in 2028
Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber and nuclear, also said the service expects to complete an analysis of alternatives by this fall for a separate but related effort to track airborne targets from the heavens.
Space Force testing space-based sensors to track airborne targets
Space-based capabilities could put current aerial tracking platforms in question, but top military brass have argued for options "from whatever domain or platform or system that comes [in]."
Air Force eyes ‘Advanced E-7’ Wedgetail with upgrades including new radar
A request for information released by the service raises the possibility of integrating new upgrades on a platform “equivalent” to the E-7, though it’s not clear what that could be.
Space Force vice wants sats to track aircraft by early 2030s
One of the key challenges for tracking enemy aircraft from space is that airplanes and drones move much faster than tanks, trucks and ships; confounded by the fact that satellites themselves also move around the Earth extremely fast.
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America needs next-gen solutions to counter modern air and missile threats
Defending a country the size of the US from threats requires advanced sensing, communications and interception capabilities.
Air Force, Boeing finalize deal for E-7 Wedgetail at $2.6 billion for 2 planes
The hefty pricetag comes in part due to the need to integrate US-specific requirements on planes already flown by American allies, the company and the Air Force have said.
US approves $2.8 billion in logistics, sustainment for Saudi Arabia
The potential deal includes support for US-made aircraft like C-130 transport planes, E-3 surveillance aircraft and Bell helicopters.
Air Force picks ‘resilient’ GPS, MTI for Kendall’s ‘quick start’ push
Production of an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft has also slipped by a year, according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Boeing aims for annual output of 6 E-7 Wedgetails to fill global early warning ‘gap’
As Breaking Defense toured Boeing's Seattle area facilities where the E-7 radar plane will take shape, company officials talked about getting the bird in the air — and their vision for what it can do.