The aircraft was ferried from Seattle with stopovers in Georgetown and Bangor across North America. Prior to the transfer, it underwent acceptance testing in its baseline configuration at Boeing facilities in Washington state during the summer of 2025.
After testing, the aircraft was moved to Delaware Coastal Airport in Georgetown on August 14, 2025, where it remained in storage for several months. The pause may have been linked to discussions between the U.S. Congress and the Department of War regarding the future and funding of the program.
In September 2025, it was announced that both prototype aircraft would be converted to the E-7A configuration at STS Aviation Services in Birmingham. The facility is currently working on aircraft ordered by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The arrangement allows the UK-based company to maintain employment levels and technical expertise. This is expected to support ongoing work until potential additional UK orders are confirmed.
On March 12, the U.S. Department of War announced additional contracts with Boeing to continue development and production of the E-7A Wedgetail. The agreements are valued at $2.4 billion and bring the total program cost to $5 billion.
Under the contracts, Boeing will continue work on the two prototype aircraft and begin preparations for serial production. The company will also continue manufacturing components for the MESA radar system.
All work under the current agreements is scheduled for completion by August 2032. The program is intended to deliver airborne early warning and control capabilities for the U.S. Air Force.
Boeing plans to produce up to 26 E-7A Wedgetail aircraft despite criticism from the Secretary of War. The aircraft are expected to replace the aging Boeing E-3 Sentry fleet currently in service.
