Boeing E-3 Sentry

Operational history

In March 1977 the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing (now the 552d Air Control Wing) at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma received the first E-3 aircraft.

The 34th and last USAF Sentry was delivered in June 1984.[22] In March 1996, the USAF activated the 513th Air Control Group (513 ACG), an ACC-gained Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) AWACS unit under the Reserve Associate Program.

Collocated with the 552 ACW at Tinker AFB, the 513 ACG which performs similar duties on active duty E-3 aircraft shared with the 552 ACW.

The USAF have a total of thirty-one E-3s in active service.

Twenty-seven are stationed at Tinker AFB and belong to the Air Combat Command (ACC).

Four are assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and stationed at Kadena AB, Okinawa and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. One aircraft (TS-3) was assigned to Boeing for testing and development (retired/scrapped June 2012).

NATO acquired 18 E-3As and support equipment for a NATO air defense force.

Since all aircraft must be registered with a certain country, the decision was made to register the 18 NATO Sentries with Luxembourg, a NATO member that previously did not have any air force.

The first NATO E-3 was delivered in January 1982.

The eighteen E-3s were operated by Number 1, 2 and 3 Squadrons of NATO's E-3 Component, based at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen.

Presently 17 NATO E-3As are in the inventory, since one E-3 was lost in a crash.

NATO members United Kingdom and France are not part of the NATO E-3A Component, instead procuring E-3 aircraft through a joint project.

The UK and France operate their E-3 aircraft independently of each other and of NATO.

The UK operates seven aircraft and France operates four aircraft, all fitted with the newer CFM56-2 engines.

The British requirement came about following the cancellation of the British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3 project to replace the Avro Shackleton AEW2 during the 1980s. The UK E-3 order was placed in February 1987, with deliveries starting in 1990.

The other operator of the type is Saudi Arabia which operates five aircraft, all fitted with CFM56-2 engines.

E-3 Sentry aircraft were among the first to deploy during Operation Desert Shield, where they immediately established as an around-the-clock radar screen to defend against Iraqi forces.

During Operation Desert Storm, E-3s flew 379 missions and logged 5,052 hours of on-station time.

The data collection capability of the E-3 radar and computer subsystems allowed an entire air war to be recorded for the first time in history. In addition to providing senior leadership with time-critical information on the actions of enemy forces, E-3 controllers assisted in 38 of the 41 air-to-air kills recorded during the conflict.

NATO and RAF E-3s participated in the international military operation in Libya.

Operators

NATO

Based in Geilenkirchen, Germany, 18 E-3 AWACS were purchased – one lost in Greece. All of these aircraft are officially registered as aircraft of Luxembourg, a NATO member with no other air force.
Responsible for monitoring airspace for NATO operations around the world.

Squadron 1

Squadron 2

Squadron 3

Training wing

France


The French Air Force purchased four E-3F aircraft similar to the British E-3D aircraft.

All planes are assigned to the Escadron de Détection et de Commandement Aéroporté (ECDA, Air detection and command squadron) and are based at Avord Air Base.


Saudi Arabia

The Royal Saudi Air Force purchased five E-3A aircraft and eight KE-3A tanker aircraft in 1983.

No. 18 Squadron


United Kingdom

The Royal Air Force purchased seven E-3Ds by October 1987. The aircraft are designated Sentry AEW.1.

No. 8 Squadron

No. 23 Squadron – (disbanded in 2009)

No. 54 Squadron


United States of America


The United States Air Force currently has 32 E-3s.

552d Air Control Wing has 27 E-3s stationed at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma

552d Operations Group

960th Airborne Air Control Squadron

963d Airborne Air Control Squadron

964th Airborne Air Control Squadron

965th Airborne Air Control Squadron

966th Airborne Air Control Squadron

513th Air Control Group (Air Force Reserve Command)

970th Airborne Air Control Squadron

3d Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska

3d Operations Group

962d Airborne Air Control Squadron

18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan

18th Operations Group

961st Airborne Air Control Squadron

Specifications (USAF/NATO)

Data from Globalsecurity.org

General characteristics

Crew: Flight crew: 4

Mission crew: 13–19

Length: 152 ft 11 in (46.61 m)

Wingspan: 145 ft 9 in (44.42 m)

Height: 41 ft 4 in (12.6 m)

Wing area: 3,050 ft² (283.4 m²)

Empty weight: 185,000 lb (73,480 kg)

Loaded weight: 344,000 lb (with aerial refueling) (156,036 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 347,000 lb (157.397 kg)

Powerplant: 4 × Pratt and Whitney TF33-PW-100A turbofan, 21,500 lbf (93 kN) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 530 mph (855 km/h, 461 knots)

Range: 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) (8 hr)

Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)

Bibliography

Davies, Ed. "AWACS Origins: Brassboard – Quest for the E-3 Radar". Air Enthusiast (Stamford, Lincs, UK: Key Publishing) (119, September/October 2005): pp. 2–6. ISSN 0143-5450.

Eden, Paul, ed. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft. London: Amber Books. ISBN 1-904687-84-9.

Hurturk, Kivanc N (1998). History of the Boeing 707. Buchair UK. ISBN 0-9666368-0-5.

Lake, Jon. "Aircraft of the RAF – Part 10 Sentry AEW.1". Air International (Stamford, UK: Key Publishing) (Vol 76 No. 2, February 2009): pp. 44–47.

Pither, Tony (1998). The Boeing 707 720 and C-135. Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 0-85130-236-X.

Taylor, John W.R., ed. (1976). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.

Veronico, Nick; Dunn, Jim (2004). 21st Century U.S. Air Power. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-2014-3.

Wilson, Stewart (1998). Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, and Vickers VC-10. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-36-6.