U.S. AND NATO AWACS
The first E-3 entered U.S. Air Force service in March 1977, preceded by more than 10 years of competitive flyoffs, prototype design and development. The last of 34 U.S. AWACS aircraft was delivered in June 1984. NATO deliveries began in early 1982, and the 18th and last NATO E-3 was delivered in 1985.
A multi-stage improvement program for the E-3 began with a U.S. Air Force award of the ICON (Integration Contract) to Boeing in May 1987. ICON equipped both U.S. and NATO E-3's with an electronic support measures (ESM) passive surveillance capability, and other enhancements to the U.S. E-3 fleet.
The latter improvements for the U.S. fleet included:
- Upgrading the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) to TADIL-J (Tactical Digital Information Link-J);
- Increasing computer capacity; and
- The ability to use the Global Positioning Satellite system to pinpoint AWACS' location anywhere in the world.
Development of these enhancements was completed in 1994. Also in 1994, Boeing received contracts from NATO and the U.S. Air Force, worth $16.8 million and $127 million, respectively, to produce ESM kits for their E-3 aircraft. The most significant upgrade yet developed for the E-3, ESM was developed by Boeing under joint funding from the U.S. Air Force and NATO under the ICON contract.
ESM is a passive listening and detection system, which enables the AWACS to detect, identify and track electronic transmissions from ground, airborne and maritime sources. Using the ESM system, mission operators can determine radar and weapon system type. During scheduled depot maintenance, USAF personnel at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., completed installation of the remaining ESM kits in 2001.
In March 1989, Boeing was authorized to begin production of Have Quick A-NETS, an improved communication system that provides secure, anti-jam radio contact with other AWACS, friendly aircraft and ground stations to a degree not previously available. Retrofit of the U.S. fleet was completed in late 1994.
Also in 1989, Boeing began full-scale development of an upgrade to the AWACS radar (APY1,2), called the Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP), a multinational cooperative effort. RSIP will improve the E-3's radar by increasing the sensitivity of the pulse Doppler radar so the aircraft can detect and track targets over a long range. It also will improve the radar's counter-countermeasures capability (making it harder to jam the system), upgrade the radar operator's console, replace the radar's existing computer with a new high-reliability multiprocessor and rewrite the radar software to make it easier to maintain and enhance in the future.
Development and flight testing was completed with NATO joining the program in 1994 and the U.S. and NATO conducting developmental flight testing and operational assessments of the radar improvements. Limited production was approved in late 1996, with full production authorized in late 1997. The United Kingdom joined the program in 1996.
Production and delivery of the kits for NATO, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Air Force began in 1998. The U.S. Air Force will install RSIP kits at Tinker Air Force Base during scheduled depot maintenance. Kit production and delivery for the entire fleet are expected to be completed in 2004.The installation of NATO kits began in late 1997 at Daimler-Benz Aerospace in Germany, under contract to Boeing. Retrofit of all 17 NATO aircraft was completed in 2000. Installation of RSIP kits on the United Kingdom fleet also was completed in 2000.
Boeing was awarded a $133 million dollar contract from France in February 2002 to upgrade the radar of its AWACS fleet with RSIP system kits. Under subcontract to Boeing, Air France Industries performed installation and checkout at its facility in Le Bourget, France Installation was completed in 2006.
Production and delivery of the kits for NATO, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Air Force began in 1998. The U.S. Air Force will install RSIP kits at Tinker Air Force Base during scheduled depot maintenance. Kit production and delivery for the entire fleet are expected to be completed in 2004.The installation of NATO kits began in late 1997 at Daimler-Benz Aerospace in Germany, under contract to Boeing. Retrofit of all 17 NATO aircraft was completed in 2000. Installation of RSIP kits on the United Kingdom fleet also was completed in 2000.
In October 1994, the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC), in partnership with the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center (ESC), initiated Extend Sentry, a program to upgrade and extend the life of the U.S. E-3 AWACS fleet through the year 2025. Extend Sentry helps meet immediate Air Force sustainment needs, as well as future performance and mission requirements. Extend Sentry addresses issues such as obsolete parts, increased maintenance, repair downtime and a shrinking supplier base.
In 1993, NATO's AWACS modernization program intensified. Throughout the year, Boeing delivered production-quality, upgraded computer systems to NATO as part of the Memory Upgrade Program. Under this effort, Boeing upgraded the existing IBM CC2 computer to the CC2E model.
In 1993, NATO also awarded three major upgrade contracts to Boeing. In January, the company received a $294.6 million procurement and production contract as part of the Mod Block 1 phase of NATO's modernization program. A $35.5 million follow-on contract to install and test Mod Block 1 hardware was received in May.
Mod Block 1 covers three important mission system-related enhancements:
- Color displays, which improved the form and usability of incoming situational information;
- "Have Quick" radios, which enhanced UHF communications by adding antijam features; and
- A version of the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), called Link 16, which increased the amount of information that can be collected and distributed among other AWACS airplanes, allied aircraft and ground stations.
During 1996 and 1997, 17 NATO E-3 aircraft were retrofitted with Mod Block 1 equipment (including ESM) and returned to the operational fleet.
In November 1997, Boeing received a contract to develop and test a mission systems upgrade for the NATO E-3 fleet. Under the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) contract, , Boeing -- supported by subcontractors from participating NATO nations -- integrated major system-related enhancements to computers, displays, communications, navigation and target identification.
Major mission system enhancements were installed on 17 NATO AWACS aircraft as part of the $1.32 billion Mid-Term Modernization program.
EADS, as subcontractor to Boeing, performed the work in Manching, Germany. Retrofit of the first aircraft was completed in Nov. 2006. The entire fleet was completed in Nov. 2008. Additionally, Boeing upgraded two NATO AWACS mission simulators into the Mid-Term configuration.
The enhancements provide an improved picture of the battlespace with the integration of data from various sensors on board the AWACS, as well as from other sources, and an increased capacity in the number of targets it can track. The capability means increased interoperability with more assets including other AWACS or Airborne Early Warning and Control fleets, ground stations, fighter aircraft, UAVs, ships and satellites and is combined with an updated Identification Friend or Foe system.
In December 2001, Boeing received a $37.6 million contract to enhance the flight deck of the NATO AWACS fleet. Under the contract, the 17 aircraft were upgraded to meet near-term European civil requirements for reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM). RVSM will allow the E-3s to operate in areas where air traffic control vertical separation requirements have been reduced to handle increased air traffic.
Additionally, the NATO AWACS aircraft were outfitted with Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). ACAS works with the aircraft's identification friend or foe transponder to detect other aircraft within ACAS protected airspace. If an aircraft comes too close, the system sounds an alert and provides a message (climb or descend) to the AWACS flight crew to avoid a collision.
As prime contractor, Boeing was responsible for the engineering design, hardware kit build, system integration, analysis, and certification support. Rockwell Collins provided the ACAS computer, antenna system, and integrated vertical speed / ACAS cockpit display. European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) provided an upgraded IFF transponder, Honeywell Corp. upgraded the air data computers, and Innovative Solutions and Support provided the RVSM altitude alerter. Installation, checkout, and flight testing was done by EADS at its facility in Manching, Germany.
The largest upgrade in the history of the U.S. AWACS fleet is underway at the Boeing in Seattle, Wash. Block 40/45 will give the warfighter capabilities required to provide airborne surveillance and battle management well in the 21st century.
Boeing completed mission system flight testing for Block 40/45 in 2008.During a 15-month period from April 2007 to July 2008. Boeing and the Air Force's Joint Test Force flew missions aboard Test System 3, an AWACS test aircraft, to complete the System Design and Development program.
Test data indicated the Block 40/45 system meets or exceeds all its key performance parameters and technical performance requirements.
Under the Block 40/45 program, the aircraft's legacy mainframe computer has been replaced with an open system architecture using network servers in a user-friendly operating environment. The vastly improved computing power helps automate what is currently a manually intensive workload for the AWACS operators. A multisource integration capability automates the process of detecting and identifying targets to provide a single-target/single-track resolution. Outgoing tasking messages are automatically prioritized via a data link infrastructure. Features are displayed to operators on the Primary AWACS Display in a user-friendly, intuitive manner. The numerous buttons and switches around the current operator console have been replaced with point-and-click simplicity and a display featuring drop-down menus and rapid access to all required information. This functionality shortens the time required to execute either combat or search-and-rescue missions. The cumulative benefit of the Block 40/45 upgrade is to increase overall mission effectiveness for AWACS operators in the 21st-century battlespace, while boosting the reliability of the mission system and lowering life-cycle costs. The baseline capability is designed to allow future upgrades.
Depending on government funding profiles, the 40/45 upgrades will be installed on the entire U.S. fleet of 32 AWACS by 2016 or 2017. Current and planned improvement programs will maintain E-3's status as the world's most advanced airborne early warning system into the 21st century.