Airborne early warning and control

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A Royal Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry over North Yorkshire

An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne

battle management command and control (BMC2). When used at altitude, the radar system on AEW&C aircraft allows the operators to detect, track and prioritize targets and identify friendly aircraft from hostile ones in real-time and from much farther away than ground-based radars.[1] Like ground-based radars, AEW&C systems can be detected and targeted by opposing forces, but due to aircraft mobility and extended sensor range, they are much less vulnerable to counter-attacks than ground systems.[2]

AEW&C aircraft are used for both defensive and offensive air operations, and serve

command and control capabilities that may not be present on smaller or simpler radar picket aircraft. AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is the name of the specific system installed in the E-3 and Japanese Boeing E-767 AEW&C airframes, but is often used as a general synonym for AEW&C.[4][5]

General characteristics

Wellington Ic "Air Controlled Interception" showing rotating radar antenna

Modern AEW&C systems can detect aircraft from up to 400 km (220 nmi) away, well out of range of most surface-to-air missiles. One AEW&C aircraft flying at 9,000 m (30,000 ft) can cover an area of 312,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi). Three such aircraft in overlapping orbits can cover the whole of Central Europe.[6] AEW&C systems communicate with friendly aircraft, vectoring fighters towards hostile aircraft or any flying unidentified object, providing data on threats and targets, help extend their sensor range and make offensive aircraft more difficult to track, since they no longer need to keep their own radar active (which can be detected by the enemy) to detect threats.

History of development

After having developed

E boats.[7][8] Another radar equipped Wellington with a different installation was used to direct Bristol Beaufighters toward Heinkel He 111s, which were air-launching V-1 flying bombs.[9][10]

In February 1944, US Navy ordered the development of a radar system that could be carried aloft in an aircraft under Project Cadillac.[11] A prototype system was built and flown in August on a modified TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. Tests were successful, with the system being able to detect low flying formations at a range greater than 100 miles (160 km). US Navy then ordered production of the TBM-3W, the first production AEW aircraft to enter service. TBM-3Ws fitted with the AN/APS-20 radar entered service in March 1945, with 27 eventually constructed.[12] It was also recognised that a larger land-based aircraft would be attractive, thus, under the Cadillac II program, multiple Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress bombers were also outfitted with the same radar.[13]

Lockheed EC-121
M one of the first AEW aircraft

The Lockheed WV and EC-121 Warning Star, which first flew in 1949, served widely with US Air Force and US Navy. It provided the main AEW coverage for US forces during the Vietnam war.[14] It remained operational until replaced with the E-3 AWACS.[15] Developed roughly in parallel, N-class blimps were also used as AEW aircraft, filling gaps in radar coverage for the continental US, their tremendous endurance of over 200 hours being a major asset in an AEW aircraft.[16][17] Following a crash, the US Navy opted to discontinue lighter than air operations in 1962.[18]

In 1958, the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau was ordered to design an AEW aircraft.[19] After determining that the projected radar instrumentation would not fit in a Tupolev Tu-95 or a Tupolev Tu-116, the decision was made to use the more capacious Tupolev Tu-114 instead.[19] This solved the problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu-95 and Tu-116 fuselage.[19] To meet range requirements, production examples were fitted with an air-to-air refueling probe.[20] The resulting system, the Tupolev Tu-126, entered service in 1965 with the Soviet Air Forces and remained in service until replaced by the Beriev A-50 in 1984.[20]

During the Cold war, United Kingdom deployed a substantial AEW capability, initially with American

Fairey Gannet AEW.3, using the same AN/APS-20 radar.[21] With the retirement of conventional aircraft carriers, the Gannet was withdrawn and the Royal Air Force (RAF) installed the radars from the Gannets on Avro Shackleton MR.2 airframes, redesignated Shackleton AEW.2.[22] To replace the Shackleton AEW.2, an AEW variant of the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, known as the Nimrod AEW3, was ordered in 1974. After a protracted and problematic development, this was cancelled in 1986, and seven E-3Ds, designated Sentry AEW.1 in RAF service, were purchased instead.[23][22]

Current systems

Many countries have developed their own AEW&C systems, although the Boeing E-3 Sentry, E-7A[24] and Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye are the most common systems worldwide.

Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)

Japan Air Self Defense Force

E-3 Sentry aircraft (Boeing 707) or more recently the Boeing E-767 (Boeing 767), the latter only being used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.[25]

When AWACS first entered service it represented a major advance in capability, being the first AEW to use a pulse-Doppler radar, which allowed it to track targets normally lost in ground clutter.[26] Previously, low-flying aircraft could only be readily tracked over water.[26] The AWACS features a three-dimensional radar that measures azimuth, range, and elevation simultaneously; the unit installed upon the E-767 has superior surveillance capability over water compared to the AN/APY-1 system on the earlier E-3 models.[27][28]

E-2 Hawkeye

The E-2 Hawkeye was a specially designed AEW aircraft. Upon its entry to service in 1965, it was initially plagued by technical issues, causing a (later reversed) cancellation.[29] Procurement resumed after efforts to improve reliability, such as replacement of the original rotary drum computer used for processing radar information by a Litton L-304 digital computer.[30][31] In addition to purchases by the US Navy, the E-2 Hawkeye has been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.[32]

The latest E-2 version is the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, which features the new AN/APY-9 radar.[33] The APY-9 radar has been speculated to be capable of detecting fighter-sized stealth aircraft, which are typically optimized against high frequencies like Ka, Ku, X, C and parts of the S-bands. Historically, UHF radars had resolution and detection issues that made them ineffective for accurate targeting and fire control; Northrop Grumman and Lockheed claim that the APY-9 has solved these shortcomings in the APY-9 using advanced electronic scanning and high digital computing power via space/time adaptive processing.[34]

Beriev A-50

Beriev A-50

The Russian Aerospace Forces are currently using approximately 3-5 Beriev A-50 and A-50U "Shmel" in the AEW role. The "Mainstay" is based on the Ilyushin Il-76 airframe, with a large non-rotating disk radome on the rear fuselage. These replaced the 12 Tupolev Tu-126 that filled the role previously. The A-50 and A-50U will eventually be replaced by the Beriev A-100, which features an AESA array in the radome and is based on the updated Il-476.[35]

KJ-2000

KJ-2000 at 2014 Zhuhai Air Show

In May 1997, Russia and Israel agreed to jointly fulfill an order from China to develop and deliver an early warning system. China reportedly ordered one

Xian KJ-600
via Y-7 derived Xian JZY-01 testbed.

Netra AEW&CS

Netra AEW&C in Aero India 2017

In 2003, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) began a study of requirements for developing an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWAC) system.[36] In 2015, DRDO delivered 3 AWACs, called Netra, to the IAF with an advanced Indian AESA radar system fitted on the Brazilian Embraer EMB-145 air frame.[37] Netra gives a 240-degree coverage of airspace. The Emb-145 also has air-to-air refuelling capability for longer surveillance time. The IAF also operates three Israeli EL/W-2090 systems, mounted on Ilyushin Il-76 airframes, the first of which first arrived on 25 May 2009.[38][39] The DRDO proposed a more advanced AWACS with a longer range and with a 360-degree coverage akin to the Phalcon system, based on the Airbus A330 airframe,[37][40] but given the costs involved there is also the possibility of converting used A320 airliners as well.[41]

IAF has plans to develop 6 more Netra AEW&CS based on Embraer EMB-145 platform[42] and another 6 based on Airbus A321 platform.[43][44] These systems are expected to have an enhanced performance including range and azimuth

Boeing 737 AEW&C

The

ELINT array, with a maximum range of over 850 km at 9,000 metres (30,000 ft) altitude.[45]

A Brazilian Air Force Embraer R-99

Erieye/GlobalEye

The

P-3 Orion aircraft to be equipped with Hawkeye 2000 AEW systems.[47] China and Pakistan also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development of AEW&C systems.[48]

The Hellenic Air Force, Brazilian Air Force and Mexican Air Force use the Embraer R-99 with an Ericsson Erieye PS-890 radar, as on the S 100D.[49][50][51]

Others

Israel has developed the IAI/Elta

IAI EL/W-2085 airborne early warning and control multi-band radar system on Gulfstream G550; this platform is considered to be both more capable and less expensive to operate than the older Boeing 707-based Phalcon fleet.[53]

Helicopter AEW systems

An AEW Westland Sea King helicopter of the Royal Navy

On 3 June 1957, the first of 2 HR2S-1W, a derivative of the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave, was delivered to the US Navy, it used the AN/APS-32 but proved unreliable due to vibration.[54]

The British

SH-3 Sea King in the same role, operated from the LPH Juan Carlos I.[citation needed
]

The AgustaWestland EH-101A AEW of the Italian Navy is operated from the aircraft carriers Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi.[58] During the 2010s, the Royal Navy opted to replace its Sea Kings with a modular "Crowsnest" system that can be fitted to any of their Merlin HM2 fleet.[59][60] The Crowsnest system was partially based upon the Sea King ASaC7's equipment; an unsuccessful bid by Lockheed Martin had proposed using a new multi-functional sensor for either the AW101 or another aircraft.[61][62]

The Russian-built Kamov Ka-31 is deployed by the Indian Navy on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and Talwar-class frigates and will be deployed on the INS Vikrant.[63] The Russian Navy has two Ka-31R variants, at least one of which was deployed on their aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in 2016.[64] It is fitted with E-801M Oko (Eye) airborne electronic warfare radar that can track 20 targets simultaneously, detecting aircraft up to 150 km (90 mi) away, and surface warships up to 200 km (120 mi) distant.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Neufeld 1997, p. 276.
  2. ^ Neufeld 1997, p. 278.
  3. ^ Gordon 2010, p. 3.
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  6. ^ "AWACS: Nato's eyes in the sky" (PDF). Nato.
  7. ^ Air-Britain, Aviation World, 2004,
  8. ^ Hodges, R, "Air controlled interception," Radar Development to 1945 R W Burns (ed),
  9. ^ Flypastm April 1987: "The First AWACS".
  10. ^ R.H. Hamilton in Perkins, L.W., ed., Flight into Yesterday – A Memory or Two from Members of the Wartime Aircrew Club of Kelowna, L.P. Laserprint, Ltd., Kelowna, B.C., 2000, and 407 Squadron History 1941–1996 – a Narrative History, 407 Squadron, 1996.
  11. ^ Hirst 1983, p. 59.
  12. ^ Hirst 1983, p. 64.
  13. ^ Hirst 1983, p. 60.
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  15. ^ Wilson 1998, p. 72.
  16. ^ "Navy Airship Longer Than Football Field." Popular Mechanics, September 1952, p. 117, bottom.
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  19. ^ a b Gordon 2006, p. 87.
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  29. ^ "across the editor's desk: COMPUTING AND DATA PROCESSING NEWSLETTER – LITTON'S L-304". Computers and Automation. 14 (10): 43–44. October 1965.
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Bibliography

External links