{"id":23194,"date":"2018-07-06T01:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T01:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:02:13","slug":"airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LONDON &#8212; Two of Europe\u2019s top aerospace defense companies are discussing combining their airborne early warning capabilities in an attempt to head off a possible sole-source British purchase of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/home\/2015\/02\/25\/raaf-details-wedgetail-s-recent-upgrade\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Boeing Wedgetail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The talks are centered on a potential collaboration bringing together an Airbus-built platform with a version of Saab\u2019s Erieye radar, said two sources familiar with the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a third source though sought to dampen expectations of a deal saying the talks were not exclusive and both companies were also talking to various other potential partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The British are considering replacing their venerable, and increasingly unreliable, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2016\/10\/20\/northrop-grumman-awarded-extension-for-support-of-british-sentry-fleet\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Boeing Sentry E-3D fleet<\/a> with a new airborne early warning aircraft for the Royal Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sentry\u2019s are currently due to stay in service with the RAF until 2035, subject to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2016\/10\/20\/northrop-grumman-awarded-extension-for-support-of-british-sentry-fleet\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">capability sustainment program<\/a> to extend their service life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News that the two companies are discussing a potential tie-up comes just three days after UK Parliamentary defence committee chairman Julian Lewis wrote an open letter to British defense procurement minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2018\/01\/10\/britain-hires-new-defense-procurement-chief-as-budget-woes-linger\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Guto Bebb<\/a> urging the MoD to ensure that any tender for a new surveillance aircraft must be open to fair competition, and not awarded sole-source to the Wedgetail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter said that it would be \u201cparticularly inappropriate for a competition to be foregone in favour of Boeing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/2018\/01\/26\/boeing-loses-in-dispute-with-canadas-bombardier\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">following their involvement<\/a> in the imposition of punitive tariffs against Bombardier last year [over regional jet subsidies].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fight with Boeing threatened Bombardier manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland with substantial job losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/breaking-news\/2017\/09\/26\/us-backs-boeing-in-bombardier-spat-damaging-hopes-for-f-18-to-canada\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"159\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-494132481.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US backs Boeing in Bombardier spat, damaging hopes for F-18 to Canada<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A U.S. court has made a decision on the lawsuit between Boeing and Bombardier, which has major repercussions for Canada&#039;s interest in the F\/A-18.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Airbus didn\u2019t confirm that talks were taking place with Saab. But in a statement, it unsurprisingly supported the calls for an open competition &#8212; and gave a clue as to what it sees as potential platforms for a possible British requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the Royal Air Force, Airbus would welcome a competition to present a market leading and cost-effective solution for the RAF\u2019s future AWACS requirements,\u201d said an Airbus spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBuilding on our successful experience in converting commercial aircraft into the world\u2019s market-leading tanker, Airbus is working on further opportunities to use the A330 and A320 as the basis for new mission aircraft,\u201d said the spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To the same effect, Saab also welcomed an open competition from the government to replace the Sentry fleet, although it did not go into specifics regarding the exact offering it would expect to pitch should a competition be held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSaab, as the one of the world\u2019s leading suppliers of airborne surveillance and air battle management systems, would enthusiastically pursue an open competition to replace the UK\u2019s aging E-3D fleet, should the UK MoD choose to issue a requirement,\u201d a company spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Potential signing<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Late last month, The Times newspaper reported the MoD was heading for a possible sole source buy of between four and six Wedgetail aircraft at a cost of up to \u00a33 billion to replace the Sentry fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NATO summit in Brussels, the Royal International Air Tattoo, or the Farnborough air show later this month, have been touted as possible venues for an announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MoD declined to comment on whether a Wedgetail deal was likely or imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018Any decision on the way forward for the Sentry capability will be taken in the best interests of national security in the face of intensifying threats, and only after full consideration. We tender contracts competitively wherever appropriate. It is too early to comment further at this time,\u2019 said an MoD spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Australian air force Wedgetail is scheduled to appear at the RIAT show starting July 13 at Fairford, southern England. The 737-based jet has also been sold to Turkey and South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2016\/12\/19\/uk-begins-testing-sentry-post-repairs\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sentry-raf.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">UK Begins Testing Sentry, Post Repairs<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">This comes after the fleet of Sentry E-3D airborne early warning aircraft were taken out of service in October due to electrical wiring problems. If the tests go to plan the first aircraft could be returned to operational service in the second half of January.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter raised the committee\u2019s concerns over the state of the RAF\u2019s Sentry fleet, saying it was in a poor state of maintenance and often only a single aircraft in the six strong fleet was available at any one time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A statement accompanying the letter said reports have emerged that as part of the Modernising Defence Programme review being conducted by the MoD it is considering cancelling the sustainment program and replacing the Sentry fleet with a new aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter from the lawmakers reflects increasing concern on the committee about the award of non-competitive contracts with overseas companies for major defense equipment requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most recent of those was the MoD decision to buy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2018\/04\/02\/uk-to-re-join-boxer-program-17-years-after-opting-out\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Artec-built Boxer mechanized infantry vehicles<\/a> from Germany without a competition, but the U.S. industry has also benefited from several sole-source deals in recent times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boeing has particularly rankled competitors after winning two major UK contracts in 2016 without a competition: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2017\/07\/03\/pentagon-seeks-increased-p-8-ties-with-norway-uk\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft<\/a> and the AH-64E Apache attack rotorcraft, the selection of which were announced at that year\u2019s Farnborough air show.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/farnborough\/2016\/07\/11\/uk-announces-p-8-apache-buys\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635975368068943045-ah-64e-3jpg.jpg?w=240\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">UK Announces P-8, Apache Buys<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The UK has officially confirmed the purchase of new P-8 and Apache fleets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lewis said in the letter that the committee had \u201cin the light of convincing evidence of at least one credible alternative to Wedgetail,\u201d it can see \u201cabsolutely no reason why, yet again, to dispense with open competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s not known exactly who the committee is referring to, but an Airbus\/Saab combination would appear to qualify as being highly credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saab\u2019s well regarded Erieye radar has sold widely around the world on turboprop and regional jet platforms with countries like Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Sweden operating the capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most recently it secured a deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/03\/16\/saabs-globaleye-swing-role-surveillance-aircraft-goes-airborne\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">with the United Arab Emirates<\/a> for the delivery of five of the new GlobalEye early warning and control aircraft which uses the Bombardier 6000 business jet as a platform and boasts a new extended range version of Erieye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saab executives at the roll-out of the GlobalEye in February said they had briefed the British on the aircraft\u2019s capabilities, but their view was the RAF still wanted a larger cabin than a business jet could provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One option to meet that requirement is the possible use of almost new A330 tanker aircraft available under the AirTanker private finance initiative arrangement to provide inflight refuelling capacity to the RAF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fourteen A330s were built for AirTanker, in which Airbus is a shareholder, with nine aircraft being available constantly for the RAF and the remainder of the airframes leased out to other users, but available for immediate return to air refueling duties in a crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The wings of Airbus\u2019 commercial airliners are manufactured in the UK, and uncertainty surrounding the terms of the nation\u2019s impending exit from the European Union has caused the company to issue a strong warning to the government that it may move the work elsewhere if Brexit does not favor movement of parts, or the certification of the wings in line with European standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CEO Tom Enders has been vocal on his views regarding the situation, but opening up other areas of work in which companies like Airbus may participate &#8211; such as an open competition for the AWACS replacement \u2013 could help companies like Airbus who feel the government has overlooked their interests in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other executive though wonder whether Brexit supporting Government ministers in Britain are in any mood to do Airbus any favors in sectors like defense procurement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":51399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":96,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,46,11,12,36,96,30],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3351,3001],"class_list":["post-23194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-industry","category-newsletters","category-riat","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WS5UZIFLYFFNNLI4V5T6QKWK74","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Chuter, Beth Stevenson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Chuter, Beth Stevenson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1196,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Europe\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Industry\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"RIAT\",\n\t                \"Special Multimedia Reports\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/06\\\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"digital-show-dailies\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"RIAT\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/digital-show-dailies\\\/riat\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"riat\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK - Defense News","description":"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK","og_description":"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00","author":"Andrew Chuter, Beth Stevenson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Chuter, Beth Stevenson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK","datePublished":"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/"},"wordCount":1196,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Daily News Roundup","Europe","Global","Industry","Newsletters","RIAT","Special Multimedia Reports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/","name":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-07-06T01:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T22:02:13+00:00","description":"Boeing seems close to a British contract for its Wedgetail aircraft, but a potential challenger is emerging.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/2018\/07\/06\/airbus-and-saab-consider-challenge-to-boeing-wedgetail-for-uk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Digital Show Dailies","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/","ad_zone":"digital-show-dailies"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"RIAT","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/riat\/","ad_zone":"riat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Airbus and Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-483178765.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74691,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194\/revisions\/74691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23194"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}