WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Armed Services Committee has not received a promised Pentagon budget amendment to fund the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, despite public assurances from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The initial draft of the committee’s NDAA, released Tuesday, contains no procurement or research and development funding for the next-generation radar plane.

The Defense Department recently reversed course and committed to supporting the E-7 Wedgetail after previously zeroing out its funding in favor of space-based systems. Hegseth told House lawmakers the Pentagon would amend its $1.5 trillion budget request to include money for the aircraft. He criticized the earlier approach as reflecting a “divest-to-invest mindset” and affirmed the E-7 has a “future” on the battlefield.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told House lawmakers the estimated $1.5 billion amendment is “working its way” to Congress. In April, Meink said the Air Force plans to purchase five additional E-7 Wedgetails beyond the two prototypes already under contract.

A senior House Armed Services Committee staffer told reporters the administration has indicated it intends to send a budget amendment addressing E-7 procurement for fiscal year 2027. “We do support the E-7 program,” the staffer said. “We would like to see that budget amendment.” The committee said it would add funding for the aircraft once the amendment is received but currently does not know the requested amount, whether the funding would be discretionary or mandatory, or what budget offsets are proposed.

According to a Congressional Research Service report, the renewed push for E-7 funding followed damage to an E-3 Sentry aircraft during the Iran war.