An Air Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense following the hearing that there are seven E-11s in the current fleet, and confirmed that the plan is to replace them with the emerging DAF (Department of the Air Force) Battle Network.
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.
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.
Despite the UK once committing to field Wedgetail in the “early” 2020s, it was revealed last year that a new timeframe of 2026 had been approved.
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.
The military space sector is evolving fast. Get the latest from Space Force and industry officials on what’s next for acquisition, policy and training in a new Breaking Defense eBook.
"So the focus is going to be on delivering AMTI [airborne moving target indication] capability very quickly," Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said.
The challenge for Western democratic institutions is not a lack of capability — it is a structural one.
The government shut down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass an FY26 budget.
The continuing resolution does not include $3.9 billion requested by the White House for the Columbia-class submarine, but gives funding flexibility to other key programs.
"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.
As Congress returns from August recess, Breaking Defense examined how each defense committee is looking at a dozen major programs, from Golden Dome to F/A-XX to the cancellation of the E-7 Wedgetail.
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.
In all, the estimated £1.89 billion ($2.57 billion) British E-7 program had completed a total of three test flights as of May, according to a parliamentary statement from Maria Eagle, UK defence procurement minister.
HASC’s version of the NDAA sticks closely to the Pentagon’s own FY26 budget — a departure from a typical year where lawmakers divert funding to bolster high-priority programs.
"We are bullish on space, and we think that’s a capability that can be achieved actually faster than the E-7 will deliver at this point," a senior military official said.