South Korea is still considering the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, originally designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), despite media reports that Boeing has dropped out of the competition.
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) is considering a supplement for its four Boeing E-7 ‘PeaceEye’ aircraft through a long process that has so far involved four bidding rounds. Boeing’s E-7 is competing against Saab’s GlobalEye and an L3Harris proposal that involves integrating Israel Aerospace Industries radar systems with Bombardier's Global 6500 aircraft.
As ADM previously reported in November 2024, the US approved the potential sale of E-7 to the ROK through the foreign military sales (FMS) process for US$4.92 billion.
However, the bidding round failed after all three offers exceeded the program budget of US$2.6 billion, with reports suggesting negotiations had also run into difficulties over payment schedules.
The most recent bidding round concluded on June 30. Subsequent media reports suggested Boeing had failed to submit a bid and increased its price, which ADM has confirmed is not quite correct.
ADM understands that the new requirement from the ROK Government is unchanged from previous bidding rounds – and thus the US Government has opted to inform the ROK that the previous Foreign Military Sale (FMS) offer of the E-7 still stands, rather than repeat the FMS approvals process.
In effect, even though Boeing has not submitted a new bid, the E-7 Wedgetail remains on offer to the ROKAF alongside the Saab GlobalEye and the L3Harris platform.
“We continue to support the US government, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Republic of Korea Air Force on our offering for additional E-7 AEW&C aircraft via the foreign military sale process,” a Boeing spokesperson confirmed to ADM.
The ROK program is under increasing global scrutiny after the US cancelled its own E-7 buy, citing cost and survivability issues; though the UK is continuing on its own acquisition.
The RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetail fleet earned much praise over deployments to the Middle East, during which it managed over 80 combat aircraft during 17+ hour sorties, as well as to Europe in support of Ukraine’s defence against Russia.