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Less instead of more: Australia would like to phase out the use of the state-of-the-art E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft shortly.
Kiev - In Kiev, the government led by Volodymyr Zelenskyj is currently hoping for more support in the Ukraine war from its Western allies, but one country is now withdrawing a unit that had been made available.
As the
Kyiv Post
writes, Australia decided to bring back an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft at the beginning of April.
E-7A Wedgetail |
|
|---|---|
Function: |
Early warning and control from the air |
Range: |
approx. 7000 kilometers |
Maximum speed: |
955 km/h |
Australia withdraws surveillance aircraft
The E-7A Wedgetail, whose unit price is estimated at around 800 million euros, is technically based on the Boeing 737-700.
According to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), it has a long-range surveillance radar, allowing it to simultaneously track air and sea targets.
The Wedgetail combines a long-range surveillance radar and a secondary radar with tactical voice and data communication systems.
This enables it to provide an airborne early warning and control platform and coordinate all facets of a joint air, sea and land battle in real time - with a battlespace coverage of more than four million square kilometers.
In Ukraine, the E-7A Wedgetail has been deployed at the request of the United States since October 2023 to help monitor threats to Ukrainian aid supply routes.
The military aircraft is not stationed in Ukraine itself, but at the US Ramstein air base in Germany.
State-of-the-art technology that is also in demand in the Ukraine conflict: An E 7 Wedgetail from the Royal Australian Air Force © IMAGO/StockTrek Images
Australia denies deployment in Ukraine or the Black Sea
The
Guardian
reports that the Australian Department of Defense has denied involvement of the E-7A Wedgetail on Russian military or naval targets in Ukraine or the Black Sea.
A spokesman for the ministry said that the plane only “operated outside Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian airspace” and emphasized: “It does not provide surveillance assistance to Ukraine.”
Rather, the E-7A Wedgetail's mission is solely to "provide early warning of the entry point of humanitarian and military assistance in the unlikely event of an action or threat by Russia outside Ukraine."
The Australian government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is refraining from extending the E-7A Wedgetail mission in Europe for the time being.
© IMAGO/AAP
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Despite the E-7A Wedgetail trigger: No technical gap for the time being
The
Kyiv Post
explains that the Australian government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese does not see the withdrawal of the E-7A Wedgetail as a reduction in its own support efforts; rather, the originally agreed mission has now been fulfilled.
A deployment after the planned withdrawal date in April does not seem to be out of the question, as the Ministry of Defense spokesman made clear to the
Guardian
: “All future requests for support from Australia's international partners would be examined in the usual way.” For the time being, however, there would be no technical gap either way other Western surveillance devices would be used.
Australia has so far contributed $630 million to Ukraine support
At the end of February, Australia announced through its Foreign Minister Penny Wong that it would contribute an additional $33 million to the International Fund for Ukraine managed by Great Britain.
This brings Australia's total support to Ukraine to date to around $630 million - of which around $510 million is purely military aid.
Meanwhile, NATO announced last November that it would like to replace its 14-aircraft AWACS radar system fleet with six new Boeing E-7A Wedgetails.
These are to be put into operation in the future, by 2031 at the latest, from the Geilenkirchen air force base near Aachen.
(chnnn)