UK MoD: Other bidders no chance against Boeing Wedgetail
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/11 ... wedgetail/
LONDON — A proposal to acquire a fleet of Boeing Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft for the Royal Air Force was so far in advance of a rival Saab/Airbus offering that the British Ministry of Defence felt it would be a waste of time and money to hold a competition, according to Defence Procurement Minister Stuart Andrew.
“In considering the E-7 Wedgetail , there was such a clear distinction over any other options it was felt that running any type of competition would unnecessarily consume MoD and industry resources, whilst the gap between U.K. capability and the evolving threat would be expected to widen,” Andrew said in a letter to Parliamentary Defence Select Committee Chairman Julian Lewis MP.
The letter, dated Nov. 1, but only released Nov. 14, was the MoD’s response to concerns raised by Saab in a letter to Lewis in mid-October refuting claims by the ministry that marrying the Airbus A330 airframe with the Swedish company’s Erieye radar presented a significant risk.
The MoD announced in September that it intended to acquire the Wedgetail without a competition, subject to reaching a satisfactory deal with Boeing over the price.
The British are expected to purchase five Wedgetail aircraft. The RAF already has aircrew in Australia training on its close allies E-7s. Australia, Turkey and South Korea have purchased the Wedgetail, although it is not in service with the U.S. military.
The defense committee recently quizzed top MoD officials over the intended purchase. In a bid to overcome concerns, committee members were also recently privy to a behind closed doors briefing by the department on the reasons for negotiating a single source deal with Boeing.
UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has signed a $1.98Bn deal to purchase five E-7 early warning radar aircraft.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mult ... r-aircraft
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mult ... r-aircraft
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Time to get some of the Voyagers fitted with Airbus's flying boom refuelling system, that's a fourth type of aircraft (C-17, P-8, RC-135W and now E-7) that requires it for AAR. I'm sure the PPI people will agree, just hope the modification won't cost too much so to limit it to too few airframes. Excellent news anyway, the E-3s weren't getting the proper updates and we need the best for our F-35s.
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