E7 Wedgetail

Sqdn Leader Simon Bracewell, Executive Officer from 8 Sqdn RAF Lossiemouth gave members a most detailed and interesting presentation about the new defence aircraft which will soon be flying around our skies.

The E7 Wedgetail, based on a 737 passenger plane will be built in Britain, and will be arriving in Lossiemouth early 2025. The surveillance “state of the art” aircraft can fly 10 hours unfuelled, and will also have the capability of Boom only “Air to Air” refuelling connectivity. The plan can carry up to 21 on board, although will normally have 12 standard crew – 2 pilots with 10 others being responsible for operating the controller systems, the air operations systems and the weapons systems. Wedgetail planes can be found in South Korea, Turkey, the USA and Australia and currently RAF personnel have been deployed to Australia where they are undergoing intensive training.

The arrival of the new aircraft, of which there will be 3 initially, will bring with it at least an additional 200 RAF personnel, as well as other support teams, and longer term it is anticipated that this could see the Moray area grow by as many as 500 plus all their families.

Without doubt, another fantastic investment at RAF Lossiemouth, making it one of the largest employers in the area.