Australia has announced that its E-7A Wedgetail military surveillance aircraft conducted 45 missions near Ukraine over the past three months, as part of NATO’s efforts to monitor Russian military activity.
Between July and October 2025, crew from 2 Squadron, Task Element (TE) 631.10.7 from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) carried out over 45 operational missions under Operation Kudu. All flights were launched from ground alert status, with several requiring emergency scrambles to deliver operational air battle management capabilities.
Australia's contribution to NATO in the form of an @AusAirForce E-7A Wedgetail has concluded.
— Joint Operations Command (@hqjoc) October 17, 2025
The aircraft and crew have operated from Poland under Operation Kudu since July, helping to provide vigilant oversight of Eastern Europe.#strongertogether pic.twitter.com/q3gVMhTkZm
According to Task Element Wing Commander Samuel Thorpe, the mission centered on supporting humanitarian aid deliveries to Ukraine through Poland’s logistics hub, where the unit is currently concluding its deployment.
“The E-7A is the most sophisticated airborne, command and control platform in the world,” Wing Commander Thorpe said.
“It’s highly sought after and not something NATO has available to it. So, it’s no surprise that it came as a request from the Polish and NATO forces, for the TE to come and provide support,” Thorpe concluded.
The Australian Defence said that Operation Kudu achieved two historic milestones: the inaugural operational deployment of the E-7A to Poland and the first instance of the ADF deploying assets independently, without traditional support from Australia’s Five Eyes alliance partners.
“We have provided a complete organic Australian solution in a country that we are not familiar with,” Thorpe said.
Operation Kudu underscores the deepening partnership between Australia and NATO, reflecting the Australian Government’s unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.