Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cast doubt on the future utility of airborne battle management aircraft, particularly the E-7 Wedgetail , and said space-based capabilities represent the future of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Hegseth’s skepticism of the E-7 and touting of space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, may presage a split between the Pentagon’s top leadership and Air Force leaders and some lawmakers who feel that airborne assets are still the best option for managing battlefields.

The Air Force wants to buy 26 Boeing-made E-7s , which have been flown for years by Australia and are being bought by other nations such as the United Kingdom, to replace its fleet of aging E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, pla

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