The Air Force’s Aged Fleet Of AWACS Radar Planes Is In ‘Hospice Care.’ It Needs New Planes As Soon As Possible.

The E-3 Sentry AWACS plane with its rotating radar dome above the fuselage has long been a symbol of Western resolve to resist aggression. A total of 68 were built during the cold war, with half being acquired by the U.S. Air Force and the other half by NATO and overseas allies.

AWACS is an acronym for “airborne warning and control system,” meaning the planes can use their radars in any weather, day or night, to surveille airspace out to a range of 250 miles, identify hostile aircraft, and direct friendly fighters to engage the threat.

In its day, AWACS was a breakthrough in situational awareness for the Western alliance. But its day commenced during the nation’s bicentennial year, and today the 31 aircraft remaining in the U.S. fleet average 44 years of age. The head of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command says the planes should have been replaced 20 years ago, and are so aged that they are maintained in the aviation equivalent of “hospice care.”

AWACS planes are so old that some are routinely cannibalized for scarce parts to keep others flying. They are based on the ancient BoeingBA
707 jetliner, which commercial airlines long ago ceased operating—in part because it is so expensive to fuel a four-engine aircraft.

But age and expense are just part of the problem. The E-3 Sentry can’t reliably track some emerging threats, and thus has become less relevant is places like the Western Pacific. This is probably the reason General Kenneth S. Wilsbach, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, last year called on Washington to quickly replace the E-3 with a version of the more capable E-7 Wedgetail that Boeing built for Australia and South Korea.

Like the E-3, the E-7 is a radar plane. Unlike the E-3, Wedgetail does not have a mechanically rotating radar. Instead, it carries a “multirole electronically scanned array” atop its fuselage that requires no moving parts to steer the radar beam, and detects a more diverse array of airborne threats at greater distance (over 360 miles compared with 250 miles for E-3).

Wedgetail also uses its radar antenna to collect electronic intelligence to a range of over 500 miles, according to open sources. The E-7 can perform multiple functions simultaneously, with space for up to twelve mission crew onboard than analyze collected signals and securely share vital information with other friendly forces.

Based on a militarized version of the world’s most widely operated jetliner, the Boeing 737, Wedgetail is much cheaper to maintain and operate than the E-3, and thus the obvious choice to replace AWACS. In fact, according to an Air Force announcement in April, it is the only solution available that can meet airborne sensing and battle-management requirements before the E-3 Sentry ages out and must be retired.

The Air Force plans to award Boeing (a contributor to my think tank) a sole-source contract to commence work on a U.S. version of Wedgetail in early 2023, using rapid prototyping to enable a production decision in 2025.

A casual observer might ask why an aircraft already operating in the air forces of multiple allies would require two years to reach a production decision. The answer is simple: the American version of Wedgetail will incorporate a variety of software enhancements that enable unprecedented functionality in its sensor and communications links.

This part of the E-7 story has gotten little attention in the defense trade press because most of the planned enhancements are classified (secret). So, we don’t know how precise the resolution the radar will be at various ranges, how many objects it will be able to track simultaneously, or what means it will employ to communicate securely with stealthy fifth-generation fighters.

We also don’t know to what altitudes it can track objects of interest, or what granularity it might provide in tracking surface targets such as Chinese warships. What we do know, to quote one source close to the program, is that its radar will perform “leaps and bounds” better than the sensor on the E-3.

One thing we can assume is that because the enhancements are enabled largely by software advances, the U.S. Wedgetail will have room for further improvement as novel threats continue proliferating.

Anyone who has followed the appearance of drones, stealthy cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons and other innovations in places like China over the last few years can understand the need for future growth options in whatever the Air Force buys. The F-35 fighter is already headed into its fourth series of upgrades aimed at staying ahead of overseas threats. The planes supporting it need to be similarly advanced.

F-35 is a significant factor in considering what kind of an opportunity U.S. acquisition of Wedgetail might represent for Boeing. The world’s most ubiquitous fighter has unique operating features that contribute to its lethality, survivability and versatility. To the extent Wedgetail contributes to those facets of performance, it potentially becomes a requirement for other nations buying the fighter.

To summarize, the E-7 is shaping up to be a critical force multiplier for the U.S. military, and an attractive franchise for Boeing. But the program needs to be kept on track because AWACS is on its last legs and there is no time is the foreseeable future that other solutions (such as satellites) can deliver the situational awareness that Wedgetail does.

The Air Force has sought congressional approval to reprogram previously appropriated funds so that the effort can continue moving forward until the current continuing resolution for fiscal 2023 (which began October 1) is replaced by a new budget. The relevant congressional committees wisely acceded to the reprogramming request earlier this week.

Purchase of the E-7 Wedgetail for America’s warfighters should have commenced a long time ago. There is no viable alternative. Approval of the requested reprogramming signals that lawmakers understand how important it is to replace AWACS with a more advanced, versatile airborne surveillance and battle management system.

As noted above, Boeing contributes to my think tank.