:

Air Force

Defense Appropriations Conferees Provide $900 Million Boost For Boeing E-7 Wedgetail

Frank Wolfe

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

SHARE:

Defense Appropriations Conferees Provide $900 Million Boost For Boeing E-7 Wedgetail

Pictured is a Royal Australian Air Force photo of an E-7A Wedgetail taking from Eielson AFB, Alaska.

The Boeing [BA] E-7 Wedgetail for the U.S. Air Force receives a $900 million boost to $1.1 billion in the fiscal 2026 defense appropriations conference bill which prohibits the Pentagon from killing the program. Since 2023, the Air Force has retired 15 of its 31 Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes but has said it may retain the remaining 16 until 2033. NATO has embarked upon a final life extension for its 14 AWACS to keep them…

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]