Two NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft deployed to Lithuania to monitor the skies over eastern Europe, the first of these arriving at Siauliai Air Base on 28 September 2023, with the other following

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-3 Sentry - СШАUSA - 1972

NATO has selected the E-7A to replace its ageing Sentries. How six E-7As will replace 14 E-3As remains an unanswered question

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-3 Sentry - СШАUSA - 1972

The NATO E-3As are flown and operated by multinational crews. The aircraft deployed to Lithuania were manned by personnel from Czechia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United States

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-3 Sentry - СШАUSA - 1972

The final contender for the NATO AEW requirement was the Northrop-Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The company did not respond to our requests for information

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Grumman E-2 Hawkeye - СШАUSA - 1960

L3Harris showed off this model of its G6500-based CAEW at the recent Dubai Air Show. The configuration is unusual in dispensing with the usual dorsal antenna array, which significantly reduces drag. The Saab and L3 offerings are, in some respects, a generation ahead of the E-7, yet neither seems to have been seriously considered

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Bombardier Global-5000 / Global-6000 / Global-7000 - КанадаCanada - 2003

Though the combination of CAEW mission kit and the Global 6500 airframe is new, both elements of the new aircraft are tried and tested - the Global 6500 being in widespread service, while the G550-based CAEW has amassed considerable experience with Israel, Italy and Singapore

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Bombardier Global-5000 / Global-6000 / Global-7000 - КанадаCanada - 2003

Like Saab, L3Harris used a configuration developed for the RoKAF's AEW requirement as the basis of its offer to NATO. The aircraft takes the radar and mission systems from the G550-based CAEW and 'ports' them across to a Global 6500 airframe, resulting in a long range, long endurance, high performance platform with a full 360° field of regard

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Bombardier Global-5000 / Global-6000 / Global-7000 - КанадаCanada - 2003

The E-7 is neither "the only known military-off-the-shelf/non-developmental system currently capable of fulfilling the strategic commands' essential operational requirements and key performance parameters," nor is it the only option "available for delivery within the timeframe required." These were, however, presented as the reasons that the E-7 had been selected

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-7 Wedgetail / Boeing 737 AEW&C - СШАUSA - 2004

The E-7 combines an Open Mission Systems (OMS)-compliant battle management command and control (BMC2) system and an advanced, wide-band active electronically scanned array to produce a compelling AEW aircraft

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-7 Wedgetail / Boeing 737 AEW&C - СШАUSA - 2004

A Boeing E-7A in formation with MQ-28 Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Many believe that the future of AEW will rely on large numbers of unmanned platforms carrying radar, perhaps feeding data back to a manned platform, or perhaps direct to the ground

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-7 Wedgetail / Boeing 737 AEW&C - СШАUSA - 2004Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat / Loyal Wingman / ATS - СШАUSA - 2021

The E-7A has AESA arrays in a dorsal 'Top Hat' fairing, rather then a rotating mechanically scanned antenna in a rotodome like the E-3A. Fore and aft coverage is provided (with reduced range) by so-called 'Endfire' antennas in the 'surfboard' on the top of the fairing

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Boeing E-7 Wedgetail / Boeing 737 AEW&C - СШАUSA - 2004

The Saab air-to-air optimised WatchEye configuration, which mounts X-band AESA radars in the belly and in the tailcone to provide a 360° radar field of regard, is lacking in aircraft for the UAE and Sweden

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: SAAB GlobalEye - ШвецияSweden - 2018

Saab flew the fifth GlobalEye on November 23, 2023, marking the fifth successful first flights in a period of just five years, and confirming Saab's ability to deliver the most modern AEW&C solution available in the market, and to do so at pace. The fourth GlobalEye had flown on April 3, 2023

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: SAAB GlobalEye - ШвецияSweden - 2018

Saab offered the same configuration to NATO as it is offering in South Korea. The aircraft replaces the undernose EO/IR package and belly-mounted surface search radar with new forward- and rearward-looking X-band AESA radars. This fit, known as WatchEye, gives GlobalEye a 360° field of regard

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: SAAB GlobalEye - ШвецияSweden - 2018