Boeing E-7 Wedgetail

what is it?

The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, also marketed as the Boeing 737 AEW&C, is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft originally designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design, it has a fixed active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar antenna instead of a rotating one as with the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry. The E-7 was designed for the RAAF under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 35.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 853 km/hcruise speed
• range 6,500 kmwithout refuelling
• size 77.6 tmax take-off weight
• built 14made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 22 years ago, in 2004.
• 🚗Wingspan of 35.8 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 6,500 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

2004

introduced

2012

status

still flying

number built

14

role

airborne early warning and control (aew&c)

origin

🇦🇺 Australia

makers

Boeing

engines

2× CFM International

crew

2

length

33.6 m

wingspan

35.8 m

height

12.5 m

max take-off weight

77.6 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

853 km/h

range

6,500 km

ceiling

12,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family