Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa and NATO Allied Air Command Gen. James B. Hecker met with Australian Air Chief Air Marshall Stephen Chappell at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, April 22, to discuss strengthening military cooperation and interoperability.
The leaders discussed cooperative endeavors, exercises, and force posture initiatives to safeguard mutual interests. The meeting built on their recent discussions at the 2025 Australian Chief of Air Force Symposium and International Airshow, March 21-27, 2025.
They also discussed their commitment to ongoing U.S., NATO and Australian collaboration, and the Australian E-7 capability.
The E-7A is the slated successor to the aging E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft that tracks airborne targets and performs battlefield command and control functions. Variants of the Wedgetail are currently in service by NATO Allies Türkiye and the United Kingdom. The Wedgetail has also been selected as the E-3A successor for the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force in Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base, Germany.
In April, 2024, a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft completed a six-month Operation Kudu deployment to Ramstein Air Base, Germany as part of a multinational effort to provide early warning for potential threats from Russia outside of Ukraine. A contingent of 100 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel flew around 250 hours with missions averaging five hours in the air.