The Royal Air Force’s first Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft has received its new RAF paint scheme.
Wedgetail WT001 rolled out of the hangar at Southend Airport in the markings of VIII Squadron, who will operate the new aircraft in service.
The VIII Squadron badge, a sheathed Arabian dagger known as a Jambiya, was adopted in recognition of the Squadron’s long association with Arabia. The weapon is sheathed to symbolise the squadron's guardian duties and was approved by King George VI in December 1943.
As well as RAF markings and roundels, the aircraft also sports the emblem of NATO’s Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&CF) - home to NATO’s ‘eyes in the sky’. The E-7 Wedgetail has also recently been selected by NATO as their next command and control aircraft. The RAF’s Wedgetails will join this NATO Force when in service, where they will play an important and unique role for the Alliance by protecting Allied airspace with their air and maritime surveillance capability.
“Seeing the first UK Wedgetail, painted, with a visual representation of No.8 Squadron’s history is an exciting moment in the journey towards operational capability for the squadron, for RAF Lossiemouth and the RAF.”
Wing Commander McDonnell
Officer Commanding VIII Squadron
The mission crew will utilise state-of-the-art workstations to deliver a multi-domain battle management capability: providing situational awareness to other assets, directing offensive and defensive forces whilst maintaining continuous surveillance of an area. The Wedgetail significantly enhances the capability of friendly combat aircraft and warships, enabling their missions and increasing their survivability in a hostile environment.
The UK’s Wedgetail will serve under No. VIII Squadron and will be located at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, alongside the nine-strong fleet of Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, both of which are based upon the widely used Boeing 737 Next Generation airframe, allowing the RAF to take advantage of synergies between the two fleets.
Following painting, the aircraft has returned to STS Aviation Services in Birmingham for further modification.
