Ukraine conflict: Australian Wedgetail completes European mission

Australia has ended the deployment of its E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft that had been operating over Europe since July 2023. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has withdrawn its Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that had been deployed to Europe to help oversee military and humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 2 April that the aircraft had completed its planned six-month deployment out of Ramstein Air Base in Germany, from where it had since July 2023 supported the flow of military and humanitarian assistance into Ukraine.

“An [RAAF] E-7A Wedgetail aircraft will commence its return to Australia this week after a six-month deployment on Operation ‘Kudu',” the DoD said. “The E-7A aircraft supported the multinational effort to provide early warning for potential threats from Russia outside of Ukraine.”

As the DoD noted, over its six-month tour, the E-7A Wedgetail contingent flew around 250 hours with missions averaging five hours in the air.

Australia's military assistance to Ukraine will continue under the expanded training element of Operation ‘Kudu', which comprises up to 90 personnel providing training to Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel in the United Kingdom throughout 2024.

For more information on the E-7A Wedgetail, please seeBoeing 737 AEW&C.