IN a rare sight, four Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetails have parked nose-to-tail at RAAF Base Williamtown.
The aircraft, usually parked adjacent to each other on the Number 2 Squadron (2SQN) apron, were located on Taxiway D overnight on 21 Jun 19 due to base operational and routine maintenance requirements.
The RAAF E-7A Wedgetail fleet is regularly dispersed throughout the world supporting concurrent exercises and operations, often with all aircraft deployed simultaneously, and the high operational tempo of the Squadron means this was a rare opportunity to see four of the aircraft at home-base at the same time.
On the back of a busy 2018 with major contributions to Operations Spate, Atlas and Apec Assist concurrent with Operation Okra, 2SQN were awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup for 2018 for outstanding achievement as “the RAAF’s most proficient flying unit”.
Commanding Officer, Wing Commander (WGCDR) Jason Brown said the award was a significant achievement for the hard-working squadron.
“The Squadron’s ability to perform with excellence, consistently achieving a high rate of serviceability under diverse, demanding and complex conditions is a direct result of our personnel’s professionalism and dedication to duty,” WGCDR Brown said.
“The women and men of 2SQN are proven operators in a cohesive and agile team environment.
“It’s an outstanding achievement and their important contributions have provided Air Force with an advanced, highly capable airborne early warning and control platform that is the envy of armed forces worldwide.”
The RAAF operates six E-7A Wedgetail aircraft which provide Australia with one of the most advanced air battlespace management capabilities in the world.
The Wedgetail is based on the Boeing 737-700 commercial airliner airframe and features advanced multi-role electronically scanned array (MESA) radar and 10 state-of-the-art mission crew consoles that can simultaneously track airborne and maritime targets.
More information about the E-7A Wedgetail can be found at
Imagery of the aircraft parked nose-to-tail can be found at
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