E-7 Wedgetail Successor To AWACS Is A Must-Have For The Joint Force, The Sooner The Better
Loren Thompson
Senior Contributor
I write about national security, especially its business dimensions.
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May 18, 2023,09:53am EDT
One of the outstanding military innovations of the Cold War years was the E-3 Sentry radar plane, which could monitor airborne and maritime traffic over great distances from a modified BoeingBA -0.2% 707 commercial jetliner.
The E-3 is better known by its popular acronym, AWACS, which stands for “Airborne Warning And Control System.” As the phrase implies, it is more than just a flying radar—its onboard mission crew provides situational awareness to the entire joint force while managing engagements of hostile aircraft.
Those roles were sufficiently important that NATO bought 17 of the AWACS planes, while several key allies such as the United Kingdom and South Korea bought their own.
Loren Thompson
May 18, 2023,09:53am EDT
One of the outstanding military innovations of the Cold War years was the E-3 Sentry radar plane, which could monitor airborne and maritime traffic over great distances from a modified BoeingBA -0.2% 707 commercial jetliner.
The E-3 is better known by its popular acronym, AWACS, which stands for “Airborne Warning And Control System.” As the phrase implies, it is more than just a flying radar—its onboard mission crew provides situational awareness to the entire joint force while managing engagements of hostile aircraft.
Those roles were sufficiently important that NATO bought 17 of the AWACS planes, while several key allies such as the United Kingdom and South Korea bought their own.
