Boeing secured a contract for two USAF E-7A Wedgetails, alleviating fears that its recent DoJ plea deal would impact new military contracts.
Last July, Boeing decided to plead guilty to a U.S. Justice Department charge relating to the two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. This came in the aftermath of the 737 MAX-9 door plug blowout last January. The event caused the DoJ to opine that Boeing broke the terms of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.
In practice, Boeing’s guilty plea to the DoJ prosecution meant that it became a convicted felon. This, in turn, would make it harder for Boeing to pursue and fulfill certain contracts, including with the U.S. military.
This brings us to the Boeing E-7A. The aircraft uses the airframe of a 737-700, and is a replacement for the well-known E-3 AWACS family of early-warning jets. Boeing has already supplied the E-7A wedgetail to multiple operators worldwide, including Australia, Turkey, South Korea and most recently, the United Kingdom. The aircraft is also NATO’s choice to replace its E-3s.
Boeing E-7A – The Definitive USAF Designation?
Last year the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing an initial contract for as many as 26 E-7s. The latest news is a definitive contract for two Boeing E-7A Wedgetails, as “rapid prototypes” for the project. The value of the contract is $2.56 billion. At this time, it is not clear if all of USAF’s Boeing E-7s will also have the E-7A designation.
Existing E-7As for foreign customers were all built using former 737-700 airliners. The “rapid prototype” description of the first two USAF jets suggests that they will also use existing airframes. However, there is no explicit mention of this in Boeing’s statement.
The 737-700 belongs to the previous 737 generation, i.e. the “NG” or Next Generation, confusingly. However, Boeing still produces the E-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy, which is also based on the NG – the 737-800 in this case.
So Boeing could make USAF’s E-7s using brand new airframes after the first “rapid prototype” E-7A pair. That’s unless the Air Force would prefer an aircraft that uses elements of the 737 MAX, which is theoretically possible, but unlikely.
The U.S. military has a good supply of CFM-56 engines and facilities to maintain them. Any benefits from switching to the newer CFM LEAP of the MAX family, would seem somewhat… questionable.
In any case, the new contract confirms that Boeing can still count on military contracts, despite its other recent adventures. But this will require waivers from multiple military branches, adding to the complexity of Boeing’s contracts.
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