In reversal, Hegseth now backs E-7 radar plane

In a sudden about-face, Pentagon leaders are asking the White House to restore funding for the E-7 Wedgetail, even after the Air Force sought to spend the money on satellites instead of the next-generation radar plane.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told House appropriators on Tuesday that the Pentagon has sent a budget amendment to the White House after funding for the E-7 was zeroed out of the 2027 budget request. Hegseth, in response to a question from Rep. Tom Cole, said the early warning aircraft will be crucial for future conflicts.

“I know our department had taken the position that it was airborne or other satellite ISR that was probably going to be capable of a lot of that in the future, but I think that mindset was indicative of a mindset that we’ve shed, which is the divest-to-invest mindset,” Hegseth said. “Which was an austerity mindset that we’re going to get in continuing resolution after continuing resolution, so we have got to get rid of these platforms in order to invest in these platforms. And there are gaps that need to still be filled, and there are systems that still need to be funded that are used on the battlefield right now.”

Last year, Hegseth echoed Air Force arguments that the proper replacement for the E-3 Sentry—aka the AWACS—is new-technology satellites, not the E-7, which he said was too vulnerable for modern conflict. The service itself asked to zero out funding for the plane in its 2026 budget request, but lawmakers allocated more than $1 billion for it.

Air Force officials have hinted in recent weeks that E-7 funding could return, but have also announced plans for major spending on space-based systems, such as $7 billion for a new airborne moving-target communication capability. 

“The capability that the E-7 will provide is an important capability, and so we need to look at what we're going to do,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told reporters at Space Symposium in Colorado last month. “We're finalizing those decisions within the Pentagon about how we want to do that, and we'll roll that out to the Hill when it's appropriate.”

An Air Force spokesperson told Defense One that while the budget request does not include Wedgetail funding, “the Air Force is evaluating options to resource the E-7 program in FY 2027 to deliver Rapid Prototyping aircraft and continue Engineering and Manufacturing Development activities.”

Amid the damage to the E-3and losses of aging tankers during the Iran war, former military leaders have told Defense One that key upgrades to battlespace awareness technology and AWACS replacements need to be prioritized. 

"I think it has a future,” Hegseth said, referring to the Wedgetail. “It has a place on the battlefield."