The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control aircraft developed by Boeing. For nearly 50 years the aircraft has served as corner stone of the U.S Air Force’s ability to keep eye on the skies. The aircraft was helpful to U.S military in the years of Cold War and throughout America’s war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sensor takes 1o second to fully rotate and refresh its view of aircrafts the AWACS crew is trying to track. But during war a lot time is vital and a lot can change in ten seconds. Within the time aircraft flying at hundred miles an hour can more 2 miles faster.
Boeing’s E- 7A is set to replace E-3 Sentry will give air force a different way to look at the battlefield. Instead of periodic rotational sweeps the E-7 has multirole scanned array long range sensor that will allow to fix its target or several of them. “It essentially comes down to the ability to stare at something,” Carson Elmore who runs business development for Boeing’s international E-7 program said briefing on E-7’s capabilities. And top Air Force generals are not hiding how eager they are to have the E-7 and its new capabilities at their disposal.
The Air Force in February awarded Boeing a $1.2 billion contract to being work on E-7 fleet. The aim is to reach 26 air craft by 2032. The name U.S has for E-7 Wedgetail is not certain. The air force plans to buy two rapid prototype first to be fielded on 2027. The AWACS’s engines are hard to maintain and its radar capabilities are outdated. The E-7 will require less crews. The Air Force’s AWACS fact sheet said it requires a flight crew of four, plus a mission crew of 13-19 specialists. With the new technology and less crews E-7A will be friend to U.S Air force.
