![]() ![]() Japan has four AWACS built on the Boeing 767 airframe.Īs proven in operations Desert Storm, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn/Unified Protector the E-3 Sentry is the world's premier C2BM aircraft. The United Kingdom has seven E-3s, France has four, and Saudi Arabia has five. The first E-3 was delivered to NATO in January 1982. NATO has 17 E-3A's and support equipment. Pacific Air Forces has four E-3 Sentries at Kadena AB, Japan and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Air Combat Command has 27 E-3s at Tinker. In March 1977 the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing (now 552nd Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.), received the first E-3s. Its range and on-station time can be increased through in-flight refueling and the use of an on-board crew rest area.Įngineering, test and evaluation began on the first E-3 Sentry in October 1975. The E-3 can fly a mission profile approximately 8 hours without refueling. Among other things, the Sentry's flight path can quickly be changed according to mission and survival requirements. With its mobility as an airborne warning and control system, the Sentry has a greater chance of surviving in warfare than a fixed, ground-based radar system. ![]() It has the ability to detect threats and control assets below and beyond the coverage of ground-based command and control or C2, and can exchange data with other C2 systems and shooters via datalinks. The system provides the ability to find, fix, track and target airborne or maritime threats and to detect, locate and ID emitters. It supports decentralized execution of the air tasking order/air combat order. Experience has proven that the E-3 Sentry can respond quickly and effectively to a crisis and support worldwide military deployment operations.ĪWACS may be employed alone or horizontally integrated in combination with other C2BM and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance elements of the Theater Air Control System. It can direct fighter-interceptor aircraft to these enemy targets. It can also provide information for commanders of air operations to gain and maintain control of the air battle.Īs an air defense system, E-3s can detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far from the boundaries of the United States or NATO countries. In support of air-to-ground operations, the Sentry can provide direct information needed for interdiction, reconnaissance, airlift and close-air support for friendly ground forces. In time of crisis, this data can also be forwarded to the president and secretary of defense. The information can be sent to major command and control centers in rear areas or aboard ships. This includes position and tracking information on enemy aircraft and ships, and location and status of friendly aircraft and naval vessels. The radar and computer subsystems on the E-3 Sentry can gather and present broad and detailed battlefield information. Mission crew members perform surveillance, identification, weapons control, battle management and communications functions. The mission suite includes consoles that display computer-processed data in graphic and tabular format on video screens. Major subsystems in the E-3 are avionics, navigation, communications, sensors (radar and passive detection) and identification tools (IFF/SIF). The radar combined with an identification friend or foe, or IFF, subsystem can look down to detect, identify and track enemy and friendly low-flying aircraft by eliminating ground clutter returns that confuse other radar systems. The radar has a range of more than 250 miles (375.5 kilometers). It contains a radar subsystem that permits surveillance from the Earth's surface up into the stratosphere, over land or water. The dome is 30 feet (9.1 meters) in diameter, six feet (1.8 meters) thick, and is held 11 feet (3.33 meters) above the fuselage by two struts. ![]() ![]() The E-3 Sentry is a modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome. AWACS provides situational awareness of friendly, neutral and hostile activity, command and control of an area of responsibility, battle management of theater forces, all-altitude and all-weather surveillance of the battle space, and early warning of enemy actions during joint, allied, and coalition operations. The aircraft provides an accurate, real-time picture of the battlespace to the Joint Air Operations Center. The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, aircraft with an integrated command and control battle management, or C2BM, surveillance, target detection, and tracking platform. ![]()
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