First Royal Air Force Wedgetail aircraft fitted with MESA surveillance sensor
The first Wedgetail for the RAF has had its MESA sensor installed. (Photo: Boeing)
The first of three Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been fitted with its Northrop Grumman MESA main sensor.
Northrop Grumman's Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor has been successfully installed on an E-7 Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft for the RAF, the company announced on 4 November.
'Northrop Grumman’s in-service, combat-proven MESA system already provides mission crews with advanced Airborne Moving Target Indication (MTI) capability to support NATO assurance missions against evolving threats,' said Jack Hawkins, director, MESA, at the company.
'This advanced MTI will enhance UK forces’ ability to simultaneously detect, track and identify airborne and maritime adversary targets at long range, while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.'
Australia, Turkey and South Korea have active fleets of Wedgetail aircraft, with completion work under way on the second and third systems for the UK. Shephard reported in February that the USAF has also indicated it will purchase the E-7/MESA combination to replace its ageing E-3 AWACS fleet.
Criticism has been levelled at the RAF's decision to cut its original order for Wedgetails from five to three aircraft, but the service was confident it had a full business case for the aircraft and that the fleet provided a meaningful ISR capability.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![AUSA 2024: General Micro Systems adds four new products to the X9 Spider family]()
AUSA 2024: General Micro Systems adds four new products to the X9 Spider family
The airborne three-domain, the two ground-based and the ¼ ATR OpenVPX-based cross-domain systems were engineered to provide real-time security across multi-domain operations.
-
![BAE Systems gets go-ahead for second phase of mission communications programme]()
BAE Systems gets go-ahead for second phase of mission communications programme
DARPA’s Mission-Integrated Network Control (MINC) programme was set up to develop an autonomous tactical network and enable critical data flow in contested environments.
-
![Just Released: Space Technology Report]()
Just Released: Space Technology Report
Why space is an essential part of modern military capabilities
-
![Work-from-home warfare: the power of mixed reality]()
Work-from-home warfare: the power of mixed reality
Defence-secure mixed reality headsets can save hours, or even weeks, of travel time to fix defunct equipment or get subject experts effectively “on-site” where they are needed.
-
![Northrop Grumman receives follow-on contract for CUAS and C-IED systems]()
Northrop Grumman receives follow-on contract for CUAS and C-IED systems
The Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) and Drone Restricted Access Using Known Electromagnetic Warfare (DRAKE) counter-UAS (CUAS) systems are mounted and dismounted RF jammers.
-
![Adarga’s Vantage AI software selected for UK Strategic Command’s Defence Support]()
Adarga’s Vantage AI software selected for UK Strategic Command’s Defence Support
Adarga’s Vantage information analysis tool is in service with the UK MoD and individual UK forces. It builds on the company’s Knowledge Platform which processes, organises and analyses open source material, as well as information held by the user’s military, security and intelligence services.
