The NE-3A Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) is on a fixed budget…inflation is notorious for eroding all things fixed. Will FLEP suffer big? Interestingly, the short answer is no. But why not?  

The ‘long climb’ towards the induction of the first Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) aircraft (N-1) for modification has come to a successful conclusion. On 11 April, the N-1 aircraft departed MOB Geilenkirchen for the Leonardo modification facility in Tessera, Italy.  

This year is the 40th anniversary of the activation of the E-3A Component. Wow! It is amazing to still have the NE-3A as a fully capable weapon system, even though more than four decades have passed since the beginning of this thrilling adventure.  

The 106th meeting of the NATO Airborne Management Organisation (NAPMO) Board of Directors (BOD) was conducted virtually from 7-8 December 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Before we all get a little bit too excited by the title, let’s explain what this means. As we approach two years since NAPMA signed the Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) contract with Boeing, physical work has finally begun to prepare Geilenkirchen Air Base to receive the new capabilities that FLEP will deliver.  

In June 2021, NAPMA and the NAEW&C Force successfully cleared a significant airworthiness milestone when a NATO Assessment Team (NAT) paid a virtual visit to the staffs of the NE-3A Operational Airworthiness Authority (OAA) and Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA). The NAT visit marked the culmination of two years of work toward completing the NATO Recognition Process (NRP) of the airworthiness policies and procedures jointly employed by NAPMA, as the TAA, and the NAEW&C Force, as the OAA.  

Exciting changes are on the way in the form of a modern mission system software upgrade coming to the NATO E-3A fleet as part of the one-billion-dollar Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) managed by NAPMA.