{"id":13018,"date":"2026-06-26T00:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T00:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/house-mostly-backs-1-5b-white-house-moves-to-fund-e-7-wedgetail\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T00:30:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T00:30:48","slug":"house-mostly-backs-1-5b-white-house-moves-to-fund-e-7-wedgetail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/house-mostly-backs-1-5b-white-house-moves-to-fund-e-7-wedgetail\/","title":{"rendered":"House, mostly, backs $1.5B White House moves to fund E-7 Wedgetail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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House appropriators supported a $1.5 billion White House budget request to back E-7 Wedgetail development, but pushed back on an attempt to raid the Navy\u2019s airborne early warning account to partially fund the Air Force\u2019s next-generation radar plane.<\/p>\n

In a letter last week, Russell Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director, detailed the E-7 shuffle to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. The Pentagon suggested pulling $651 million from the Navy\u2019s E-2 procurement account and $899 million from the Air Force\u2019s classified special update programs. While House appropriators backed the full E-7 funding in their version of the annual defense spending bill on Wednesday, they also restored the money to the Navy\u2019s coffers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the [Appropriations] Committee wholly supports the E\u20137 program and funding realignment, the Committee also restored the E\u20132D program to six aircraft for fiscal year 2027,\u201d lawmakers wrote in their report. \u201cThe Committee understands the operational necessity of the E\u20132D platform; the complementary nature of the E\u20132D and E\u20137; and believes that more aircraft, not fewer, are necessary to support our warfighters now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Air Force spokesperson declined to comment on the programs affected by the shuffle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Airpower advocates have intensified their push for E-7 funding and battlespace awareness upgrades since an Air Force E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft was damaged in March during the war in Iran. While the Pentagon omitted the Wedgetail its 2027 budget requests, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reversed course and told lawmakers last month that the next-generation replacement is needed for future conflicts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given the dwindling E-3 fleet, appropriators said the military\u2019s reliance on airborne battle management aircraft means more investment is needed in a next-generation replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conflict in Iran has reinforced the need for the Air Force to maintain a credible airborne battle management capability, currently being met with the Air Force\u2019s E\u20133 Airborne Warning and Control System and the Navy\u2019s E\u20132D Hawkeye programs,\u201d lawmakers wrote. \u201cAs the E\u20133 is set to retire, the E\u20137 Wedgetail will serve as [a] modern replacement for lost battle management capability, commensurate and interoperable with assets already being utilized by key allies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawmakers also ordered Air Force Secretary Troy Meink to brief the House and Senate defense appropriation subcommittees \u201con the full E\u20137 acquisition strategy, to include required quantity; funding requirements across the future years defense program; and schedules for development and production\u201d by the time the 2028 budget request is submitted.<\/p>\n

One expert said having the White House, Pentagon, and Congress on the same page, bodes well for the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the likelihood of the program getting off to a great start is very, very high,\u201d said Mark Gunzinger, the Mitchell Institute\u2019s director of future concepts and capability assessments. He added that any shuffling of funds within the service\u2019s accounts \u201cwill hurt programs.\u201d\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n