New Awacs Aircraft - The development work is expected to be completed by August 2024, according to the contract notice. The USAF plans to begin production in fiscal 2025, with the first E-7A expected to be fielded by fiscal 2027. The service anticipates procuring 24 additional E-7As by fiscal 2032, with a total projected aircraft inventory of 26 aircraft.
In the meantime, the E-3 is being upgraded to continue providing worldwide Battle Management, Command and Control and Airborne Moving Target Indication Operations until the E-7 is ready to be fielded. The engines are about as old as the 707 itself.
New Awacs Aircraft
The civilian airliner was once "synonymous with the new jet age" and ushered in "the era of mass air travel," according to the BBC. But that time has gone, and now it takes a small miracle just to keep them aloft, Kelly said.
The First E-A Is Expected To Be Fielded By With A Total Expected Order For Aircraft
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We also aim to spotlight various federal government employees and interview key government executives whose impact resonates beyond their agency. In its fiscal year 2023 budget request released on Monday, the Air Force asks to reduce its already-small E-3 fleet from 31 aircraft to 16, a 48% drop.
The request comes after senior service officials voiced their concern for months about the E-3, which is based on the Boeing 707 airliner that was first flown in the late 1950s. The main missions of the PLA Southern Theater Command Navy are focused on the South China Sea.
The US has been repeatedly and increasingly conducting provocative military operations in the region, including sending spy planes for close-up reconnaissance operations. Some of them even attempted to fake their identity, according to the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Beijing-based think tank, on Thursday.
The E-7 is an integrated, flexible command and control node that leverages networked connectivity, edge processing capabilities and organic communications and sensor data generation to support significantly improved operational decision-making and resilient and efficient force employment.
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Years ago, a wise woman asked "does it spark joy?" while helping Americans clean their homes of unnecessary clothes and keepsakes. Now, the Air Force is asking itself the same question of many of its longest-serving aircraft.
And when it comes to the E-3 Sentry, the service's 47-year-old radar, surveillance, and air traffic control aircraft, the answer is no, this definitely does not spark joy. A latest variation of China's KJ-500 airborne early warning and control system (AWACS), equipped with a probe that can allow the plane to receive aerial refueling and greatly extend its range and endurance, was recently spotted at a naval aviation regiment base under the
People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command. Boeing says the E-7 provides a fully integrated, combat-proven, flexible command and control node that delivers multi-domain awareness in the most challenging operational environments. The E-7's open systems architecture and agile software design enable the aircraft's capabilities to evolve and remain ahead of future threats.
"The next step is to build on this concept within the E-3G community and work with other airborne platforms to use IPEC and existing datalinks to provide in-air updates for other platforms," shared Lt. Col. Dameion Briggs, commander of the 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Detachment 1.
Boeing's E-7 is a combat-proven, affordable solution to meet the U.S. Air Force's near-term E-3 replacement needs while also addressing Operational Imperative capability requirements. As a derivative of the in-production Next-Generation 737 and in operation with the U.K., Australia, Korea and Turkey, the E-7 can be fielded to provide the warfighter with a measurable operational advantage.
The future battlespace is upon us. It's more complex. More dynamic. More unconventional. To be able to defeat advanced threats and accomplish missions, military aircraft must have the ability to not only evolve, but evolve faster than ever.
David covers the Air Force, Space Force and anything Star Wars-related. He joined Task & Purpose in 2019, after covering local news in Maine and FDA policy in Washington D.C. David loves hearing the stories of individual airmen and their families and sharing the human side of America's most tech-heavy military branch.
Contact the author here. Compared to legacy systems, the OMS architecture allows to add new or improved capabilities on operational aircraft very quickly and at a reduced cost, which is also very convenient in an era of continuous defense budget restraints.
In 2020 Boeing announced that works were in progress to upgrade the E-7 by integrating Open Mission Systems-compliant components. Specifically, Boeing integrated its Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) system with an unspecified advanced wide-band Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar developed by Northrop Grumman.
"We've got to take a look at requirements and do some market research," said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall last week, Defense One reported. "The leading candidate, quite obviously, is the E-7, but we want to do our due diligence."
In support of the U.S. Air Force's Operational Imperatives, the Department must field capabilities such as next-generation sensors and networked connectivity - all within the DoD budget and on a rapid timeline. The E-7 is the only available, persistent, off-the-shelf aircraft capable of meeting those needs.
The E-7 is obtained by conversion from the commercial Boeing 737-700, capitalizing on the existing aircraft design, certification and modification processes which, together with a well-established supply chain, will reduce development, maintenance and logistics costs as well as the
time needed before it can be fielded. Boeing said in a press release that two variants of the E-7 will be developed, but did not provide further details. Some analysts suggested two examples of the same variant will be built and not two different ones for the USAF.
That is a problem because the E-3 Sentry plays a vital role in the military's air operations. The aircraft is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) which uses the 30-foot-wide radar dome mounted to the top of its fuselage to track friendly and enemy aircraft and ships, and serve as an information hub for commanders operating on the ground
. If you're an infantryman in need of an airstrike there's a good chance an AWACS will take your call and send close air support your way. Unlike previous KJ-500s, an aerial refueling probe can be seen above the new aircraft's nose, Weihutang said, noting that becoming capable of receiving aerial refueling will effectively solve problems, like the lack of sufficient range and endurance, which will significantly boost its combat
capability. The Boeing E-7 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) is a combat-proven force multiplier that provides unparalleled abilities to scan the skies, communicate with surface, ground and air assets and enable integration across the joint force.
"The E-7A will be the department's principal airborne sensor for detecting, identifying, tracking, and reporting all airborne activity to Joint Force commanders," said Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
"This contract award is a critical step in ensuring that the department continues to deliver battlespace awareness and management capabilities to the U.S. warfighters, allies and partners for the next several decades. The E-7A will enable greater airborne battlespace awareness through its precise, real-time air picture and will be able to control and direct individual aircraft under a wide range of environmental and operational conditions."
But it is based on the Y-9 medium-sized tactical transport aircraft, which has a limited operational radius and endurance compared to large, strategic transport aircraft, Fu said, noting that aerial refueling can make up for this shortcoming.
It looks like the F-22s may move to Poland. Soon. According to the Polish Media outlet GÅ‚os Wielkopolski, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters belonging to the 95th Fighter Squadron, from Tyndall Air Force […]
The U.S. military already flies versions of the 737 as transport aircraft by the Air Force and as a logistics aircraft in the Navy. Boeing still makes the aircraft, so the spare parts supply is also much more robust than it is for the 707. Having reliable AWACS helps with more than just air warfare though.
Even now, NATO is flying E-3 aircraft to monitor Russia's invasion of Ukraine, providing intelligence to decision-makers, as the E-3 has also done in the past to help defeat ISIS in the Middle East. "We conducted a thorough analysis of viable industry options to ensure the selected E-3 replacement could meet the specific needs of the U.S.
Until the E-7A is fielded, we will continue to rely on the E-3 AWACS," Hunter said. "The rapid prototyping program will integrate U.S.-based mission systems into the existing airborne platform to meet DAF requirements while simultaneously ensuring interoperability with coalition and allied partners already operating the E-7A."
The Department of the Air Force is moving on with the E-7 to replace the aging E-3 Airborne Warning And Control System, awarding a not-to-exceed $1.2 billion contract to Boeing to start development activities for the E-7A Rapid Prototype
program. The E-7 was selected in 2022 to replace the E-3, leading to the establishment of the E-7A Program Management Office and now the acquisition of the first two aircraft through the rapid prototyping acquisition pathway.
Northrop Grumman is the developer of the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar located on a dorsal fin on top of the E-7's fuselage, which provides 360-degree surveillance capability (although it doesn't rotate like the E-3
Sentry's antenna) with both air-to-air and air-to-surface coverage with and integrated Identification Friend or Foe system. MESA provides the warfighter with critical domain awareness to detect and identify adversarial targets at long range and dynamically adjusts to emerging tactical situations, said the press release.
Amid frequent US military provocations, including close-up reconnaissance operations by spy planes in the South China Sea, the new KJ-500 allows the PLA to maintain extended early warning missions and enhance its capability to safeguard China's territorial waters and airspace, analysts said on
Monday. The new variation, combined with aerial tankers, can cover hundreds of kilometers, and command and control other friendly aircraft in the region, Fu said, noting that it will become a "capability amplifier" that enhances China's monitoring over aerial and maritime targets in the
South China Sea. Fu said that the KJ-500 without aerial refueling capability can also operate in the South China Sea, but cannot conduct extended missions. Land-based radars in the South China Sea can be deployed only on larger islands and reefs, and cannot cover the entire region.
By: David Roza |: Published Mar 29, 2022 9:57 AM EDT: This is a quite unusual loadout. at least three GBU-31 bunker buster bombs. The footage below exposes something interesting. It shows a KC-135 from the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, refueling F-15E Strike Eagles […]
If the E-3 is too old to serve, what might take its place? Senior Air Force officials have their heart set on the E-7A Wedgetail, an airborne early warning and control system based on the Boeing 737 that the Royal Australian Air Force has flown for about 10 years.
A better AWACS will make both fifth-generation fighters like the F-35 and fourth-generation fighters like the F-15 and F-16 stronger, Kelly said. In April 2016 we visited the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi.
Here's our report. In an era when unmanned flying is becoming a normality, the U.S. Air Force is expanding its pilot training […] During the test, the E-3G operated by the AWACS Combined Test Force used its Internet Protocol Enabled Communications satellite communications system to transmit EW data to the 36th Electronic Warfare Squadron, which sent back analyzed and corrected data to the aircraft within an hour.
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