
While the U.S. Air Force may buy 26 Boeing [BA] E-7 Wedgetails to replace its fleet of 16 1970s-era E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, also by Boeing, the service is also examining how much it could save in AWACS maintenance costs. The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies recently advised the Air Force to add more than $5 billion in its fiscal 2026 budget request to buy the 26 Wedgetails to replace the 16 E-3s "in hospice care"…