DENVER, Colo. — The Air Force’s desired adaptations to Boeing’s E-7A battlefield management aircraft are proving to be harder than expected and complicating price negotiations, top service officials said Tuesday.
“We’re having a tough time with [the E-7 program], getting price agreement with Boeing,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters in a roundtable on the Air and Space Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here. “We’re still in negotiations with them, and that’s not been finalized yet.”
The Air Force plans to purchase 26 E-7s from Boeing by 2032 to interchange its aging E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft fleet. The service awarded Boeing a $1.2 billion contract in February 2023 to begin working on the aircraft.
The service plans to first buy two rapid prototype E-7s, with the primary expected to be fielded in 2027, and in 2025 make a production decision on the remaining of the fleet.
Australia already flies the E-7, which it refers to because the Wedgetail, and Boeing can also be making the aircraft for other nations equivalent to the UK. The Air Force’s version of the E-7 can have a modified design to satisfy U.S. satellite communication, military GPS and cybersecurity and program protection requirements.
“We’re partnering with the US Air Force to deliver this critical capability and are working diligently to succeed in an agreement,” Boeing said in an announcement to Defense News.
Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in one other roundtable the sticky negotiations center on the E-7′s first two rapid prototype aircraft.
The extent of engineering work needed to adapt the E-7 to the Air Force’s specifications was “above and beyond what we anticipated,” Hunter said.
“The large surprise there was an unexpected amount and degree of non-recurring engineering required to satisfy the requirement that the Air Force specified, which we thought was very near what the U.K. is currently procuring from Boeing,” Hunter said. “Those discussions have been difficult.”
Hunter said the Air Force is trying to raised understand Boeing’s proposal and determine what elements are essential, and what are unnecessary or could possibly be deferred. The service has narrowed those nagging issues right down to a smaller list, Hunter said, but he declined to detail them.
Hunter said he would favor the method to be going faster. But he acknowledged it’s not surprising that Boeing is being particularly cautious because it negotiates on this program, and that the Air Force and Boeing are working through these challenges together.
“They’ve gotten into some contracts prior to now that it’s apparent that as they were bidding those, there was key information they were lacking,” Hunter said. “At some level, it’s not that surprising that they’re trying hard to do their homework and never bid things and never understand the complete scope of the work they may be expected to perform once they prepare their proposal.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.