A white paper being disseminated through the U.S. Department of War calls on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top officials to adopt a broader aircraft system to replace older fleets and better aid NATO partners while sending a stronger message to adversaries, Military.com has learned.
The document, shared with Military.com by a source familiar with the matter, encourages the U.S. to adopt a Gulfstream G550‑based Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) platform already fielded by Israel and Italy as “a combat-proven complementary solution.” The equivalent in the United States is known as the EA-37B, an Air Force electronic warfare aircraft nicknamed “Compass Call” that uses the modified airframe of a G550 business jet but with a sensor package developed by BAE Systems.
Military.com reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
The G550 model aligns with NATO’s 5% defense pledge and the 24-month Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP), endorsed in June and which strives to accelerate the adoption of allies’ new defense technology, per the document.
NATO “is entering a decisive moment in airborne command and control,” the document notes, acknowledging that future architectures extending toward broader, multidomain information integration are required for modernity and properly meeting the demands of high-threat environments.
The document is reportedly moving to the desk of Hegseth, who according to sources has not yet been made privy to the document.
Boeing Remains Committed
Calls for a revamped system come as multiple NATO countries announced Thursday that they will not acquire six Boeing E-7 Wedgetail aircraft viewed as successors to Boeing E-3As—now used as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems) aircraft with an expected shelf life lasting until 2035.
“Boeing remains fully committed to NATO and allied nations’ airborne early warning and control needs,” a Boeing spokesperson told Military.com. “The E-7A is the most capable and mature AEW&C platform fielded today, with combat-proven capabilities, interoperability with alliance systems, and a ready industrial and sustainment framework to meet operational timelines.”
A Boeing official noted how In November 2023, the Boeing E-7A was selected as the only capability that meets or exceeds the airborne early warning and control requirements identified by NATO Allies.
Less Money, Better Safety
The document circulating through the Department of War calls for a NATO‑owned, European-led business jet fleet, structured under the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). It could be jointly funded and operated to avoid current bottlenecks.
That translates to a global supply chain procuring and modifying aircraft faster than current programs allow, while also allowing for phased growth without redesigns. It would supposedly reduce sustainment costs and minimize future upgrades.
For example, a 6-8 member crew would operate a G550 at a cost of about $6,000 per hour, over a period of 8-10 hours and in a craft with higher survivability against threats.
That’s compared to a 12-14 member crew of an E7 operating at the approximate cost of $20,000 per hour, over a period of 10-12 hours and in a craft with moderate survivability against threats. The E-3 crew, described as a craft with low survivability costs a 16-20 member crew roughly $30,000 over an 8-10 hour period.
Air Solution
“This is a European-led solution in execution,” the paper states. “While the baseline airframes and some mission systems draw from U.S. and Israeli programs, conversion, certification, sustainment, and mission software can—and should—be conducted in Europe.
“That ensures political ownership, creates workshare for European industry, and opens opportunities for regional AI/ML and systems suppliers. Politically, a NATO‑owned G550 fleet would demonstrate cost-conscious burden sharing and turn the 5% pledge into tangible capability.”
Such a transition would also quantify NATO’s ability to rapidly innovate, providing reassurance to the public and a strong message of deterrence to adversaries.
“By leveraging an existing platform and allied industrial capacity, NATO can deliver a layered airborne C2 solution that complements the E‑7, enhances resilience, expands under-resourced mission areas, and proves the alliance can innovate at the speed of relevance,” the document says.
'Several Critical Gaps'
The Gulfstream G550 can close C2 gaps, per the document, and offers advantages in areas including survivability and agility, reducing vulnerability of the aircraft; improving coverage; maintaining human capital and expertise to work on newer systems; and could better be integrated across all domains.
While the E‑7 will modernize NATO’s airborne battle management, the document mentions “several critical gaps” that have been “repeatedly highlighted by senior commanders.”
They include vulnerability not just to surface‑to‑air missiles and long‑range fires but also to asymmetric threats from low-cost drones. It also describes how coverage over the High North, Baltics, Central Europe, and Black Sea is “unfeasible” with E‑7s.
There’s also concern about the timeline to have E-7s produced and distributed with the current timeline extending into the 2030s, which could leave the U.S. and NATO allies in limbo as E-3s simultaneously phase out of rotation.
“NATO’s airborne battle management advantage is at a crossroads,” the document states. “Choosing the E‑7 Wedgetail to succeed AWACS was a vital step; it is not enough. A complementary, proven platform is required to close NATO’s gaps in AEW and related mission sets.
“Distributed across Europe, it would harden wartime resilience and expand peacetime training opportunities, strengthening tomorrow’s readiness now—not a decade from now.”
NATO Partners Seek 'Alternatives'
The Netherlands are one of six NATO nations “now exploring alternatives for fleet replacement and seeking new partners,” according to a statement released by the Dutch Ministry of Defense.
In June, a senior U.S. military official announced the country’s withdrawal from the AWACS replacement program and effectively removed itself from providing strategic and financial assistance to partners. NATO has been using AWACS since 1982.
“The department is canceling the E-7 Wedgetail program due to significant delays with cost increases from $588 million to $724 million per aircraft and survivability concerns in a contested environment while investing in alternate solutions including space-based capabilities and adding additional E-2D aircraft,” the official said at the time.
The Dutch MoD said in a statement Thursday that under the previous program, both the strategic and financial foundations were lost which resulted in halting the acquisition of the E-7.
The NATO members are “now exploring alternatives for fleet replacement and seeking new partners,” per the statement.
"The goal remains to have other, quieter aircraft operational by 2035," Dutch State Defense Secretary Gijs Tuinman said. "The U.S. withdrawal also demonstrates the importance of investing as much as possible in European industry."
NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday signaled the urgency to "speed up” on figuring out replacements.
Military.com reached out to the Dutch MoD and NATO for comment.
