Project Air5077 will be the Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Airborne Early Warning and Control component (AEW&C) of Australia's force projection. The Wedgetail is based on the 737-700 IGW platform with Boeing as the prime contractor in the project. The radar system is from Northrop-Grumman, while locally, BAE System Australia, Boeing Australia and Qantas Defence Systems are also involved.
The contracts and projects Boeing has been involved in with the USAF have come under congressional and media scrutiny recently. This is due to the inappropriate manner in which several of this projects were sought, priced and inflated. This has not been the case with the Wedgetail project. The project is under-budget, on-time and by the RAAF's determination, an extremely well managed project. The Wedgetail has also spawned interest from other nations that are seeking regional power projection; including Turkey, Korea and Italy. (more)
