The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
- The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) was yet another program advised upon by the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD) and its main function as an aircraft is to provide surveillance through monitoring, detecting, and tracking other aircraft, missiles, or ground targets.
- AWACS is also used to perform command and control of the battlespace in the air by organizing fighter and attack aircraft strikes.
- The most common Airborne Early Warning aircraft is the Boeing E-3 Sentry, and NATO has used E-3's in various military operations.
- The first E-3's were delivered to the U.S. Air Force in the 1970s and in the 1980s, NATO procured a fleet of 18 E-3's which gave rise to the official NATO Airborne Warning & Control System program.
- The AWACS is known as NATO's 'eyes in the sky' and this page discusses the features of the program, the role and capabilities, operational contributions, structure, history, transformation/evolution, and its future.
Citation
"AWACS: NATO's 'eyes in the sky'." North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Last modified March 3, 2022. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48904.htm#:~:text=The%20NATO%20E%2D3A%20(or,air%20in%20near%20real%20time.
Further Readings
For more information on the E-3 Sentry (AWACS): https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104504/e-3-sentry-awacs/
For NATO's Support and Procurement Agency's involvement in the AWACS: https://www.nspa.nato.int/about/life-cycle-management/awacs
For U.S. Congressional Research on Possible E-3 AWACS Replacements: https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/IF12045.pdf
Overlapping Topics
Military, Defence, and Peacekeeping
Policy Sub-Topic
Policy Type
Info Note