Modified 737s Over 28 Months Late

Boeing has suffered a series of embarrassing delays in developing some of its civilian aircraft. But Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is not immune from embarrassment, either.

In 1997, Australia made the commitment to Project Wedgetail, involving procurement of at least four of Boeing's 737-700 Airborne Early Warning & Control E-7A, Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array RADAR Antenna surveillance aircraft. Military officials down under had no idea their wait for the aircraft would end up being even longer than its name.

The plane's claim to fame is its extremely versatile, electronically-scanned radar antenna array. The system, built by Northrup Grumman, allows conducting several types of search and control functions simultaneously. The plane is a modified 737 capable of as many as 12 operating positions inside. Australia has ordered its planes equipped with ten operating positions.

If you'd expect that multitasking capability to be a systems-integration nightmare, you'd be right. Australia was to get its first plane in 2006, and Boeing insisted it was on schedule. But in June of that year, the Australian government announced that the company was admitting development had fallen behind by 18 months.

That estimate proved optimistic, and the company now projects delivering the first plane a year from now, and mission readiness sometime in 2010, more than 28 months late. So, is Boeing at risk of losing the order?

The Australian reports that throughout the ordeal, Australia has not only stuck with the Wedgetail, but taken advantage of options for two more, beyond the four originally ordered, for a total outlay of four-billion dollars. Defence Procurement Secretary Greg Combet told the Australian Command and Staff College that while the Wedgetail is on the government's "Projects of Concern" watchlist, there are no plans to cancel it.

"Just last week there was a summit held in Canberra where we discussed how we are going to move things forward," he said. "I am pleased to say progress was made in those discussions but there is much more work to be done yet."

Then he added, "This is probably the project that keeps me awake the most at night."

FMI: www.boeing.com/ids