April 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force plans to buy five Boeing E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, in addition to two prototypes already under contract, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink told a House subcommittee on Thursday.
The future of the airborne early warning and control system aircraft (AWACS) was thrown into doubt last year when the Pentagon backed off plans to acquire 26 Boeing E-7As to replace its Cold War-era AWACS fleet. That prompted NATO to scrap plans to buy six E-7As.
The U.S. already had committed to buying two E-7A prototypes. The plane is based on Boeing’s popular 737 jet.
Speaking to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Meink said the Air Force plans to buy five engineering and manufacturing development E-7As.
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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