AWACS Surveillance Radar -- The Eyes of the Eagle

1 E-3 AWACS Brochure 06-30-2003 10:08 AM Page 1. Surveillance Systems AWACS Surveillance Radar The eyes of the Eagle E-3 AWACS Brochure 06-30-2003 10:08 AM Page 2. AWACS Surveillance Radar E-3 AWACS Brochure 06-30-2003 10:08 AM Page 3. A Heritage of Leadership The E-3 Sentry is an airborne Warning and Control system ( AWACS ) aircraft that provides all-weather Surveillance , Command, Control and Communications needed by commanders of air tactical forces. Proven in wartime operations such as Desert Storm, Allied Force and more recently Enduring Freedom, as well as ongoing peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts, AWACS is the premier air battle command and control aircraft in the world today. Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (ES) has a long heritage in the development and production of airborne Early Warning (AEW) radars.

2 As the supplier to Boeing for the AN/APY-1 and AN/APY-2 Radar systems used on the E-3, and the AN/APY-2 Radar system used on E-3 AWACS : The world leader in airborne Surveillance , proven in times of war and peace the E-767, ES has continued as a leader in the development of Radar technology for stabilization of the beam for proper spatial and lower the life-cycle cost of the AWACS . airborne applications. coverage as the aircraft maneuvers. Radar , while improving reliability. Mounted atop the aircraft fuselage in The first production AWACS system on Northrop Grumman is committed to a rotating dome, the AWACS S-band a modified Boeing 707 aircraft was making the best even better, and to (E-F band) Surveillance Radar is able to delivered in 1977.

3 This system is now in maintaining superior AWACS performance survey, in 10-second intervals, a volume of service with the Air Force, the North against tomorrow's evolving threats. airspace covering more than 200,000 Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Modernization will ensure that the square miles (500,000 square km) around Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and investments that made AWACS a reality the AWACS , or greater than 250 miles the French Republic. The first 767 AWACS will continue to provide returns for (400 km) in all directions. The Radar uses configuration was delivered to Japan in decades to come. a high Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) 1998 by the Boeing/Northrop Grumman pulse Doppler waveform to distinguish team. Combining the modernized, aircraft targets from clutter returns.

4 The battle-proven AWACS mission system ultra low sidelobe antenna is an important with a state-of-the-art aircraft ensures element of technology used to obtain the ability of the AWACS system to defend performance over all terrains including the skies well into the 21st century. urban and mountainous areas. The In order to counter today's increasing mechanical rotation of the rotodome threat sophistication, the AWACS Radar has scans the antenna beam through 360 been significantly upgraded under the degrees of azimuth to cover targets in all Radar system Improvement Program directions. Electronic scanning of the (RSIP). The RSIP modifications enhance antenna beam in elevation is used for Radar performance characteristics, add new measuring target altitude and for capabilities, improve the user interface, E-3 AWACS Brochure 06-30-2003 10:08 AM Page 4.

5 A Proven Force Multiplier Historically, military planners have found increasing the effectiveness of friendly missions and logged more than 5,000. situational awareness of potential hostile forces performing a variety of missions. hours of on-station time, providing targets and of friendly forces to be a key In armed conflicts and in peace keeping Radar Surveillance and control for more component in obtaining and sustaining operations, in offensive and in defensive than 120,000 coalition sorties. In addition military superiority over adversaries. Over missions, AWACS is often the first in and the to providing senior leadership with the years Radar has proven to be the last out, providing essential Surveillance , time-critical information on the actions optimum technology for obtaining long Command and Control capabilities of enemy forces, E-3 controllers assisted range, all-weather Surveillance capability.

6 Throughout the duration of the operation. in 38 of the 40 air-to-air kills recorded An airborne Surveillance Radar that can during the conflict. Following Desert Storm, maintain situational awareness of potential During the Cold War, E-3 Sentries AWACS remained vigilant in Southwest Asia targets and friendly aircraft over hundreds maintained constant vigil in the skies as a critical element of Operation Northern of square miles of airspace in any direction over Central Europe and the Far East. Watch enforcing Security Council became a reality with the introduction of E-3 Sentry aircraft were among the first to resolutions. the AWACS . One cannot overstate the deploy during Operation Desert Shield During the Balkans campaign, AWACS .

7 Importance of AWACS to the security and where they immediately established an was the controlling element of allied stability of the Free World. The weapon around-the-clock Radar screen. During airpower. In Operation Allied Force, the E-3. system acts as a force multiplier, greatly Desert Storm, AWACS flew more than 400 Sentries logged 4,800 flight hours on 500. missions, in which they were responsible for coordinating and tracking offensive and defensive missions, searching for enemy aircraft and assuring safe separation of inbound and exiting aircraft. In addition, AWACS directed the refueling efforts of about 30 tankers orbiting over the Adriatic and provided initial search and rescue coordination. In October 2001, history was made as the NATO alliance for the first time ever aided the in homeland defense.

8 NATO. deployed five of its E-3 Sentry airborne Warning and Control system aircraft from E-3 AWACS The Air Warfare advantage Geilenkirchen, Germany to help the 552nd Air Control Wing with Operation Noble Eagle , the defense of the United States. AWACS has been an operational asset since 1977 and is projected to be in service beyond 2035. For The High Demand, Low Density AWACS fleet to withstand tomorrow's challenges, AWACS 's mission effectiveness must be enhanced through modernization and sustainment programs. The Radar system Improvement Program (RSIP) is one of many modernization programs that will ensure AWACS 's ability to continue keeping the skies safe in both E-3 AWACS A critical element of coalition operations war and in peace.

9 E-3 AWACS Brochure 06-30-2003 10:08 AM Page 5. RSIP: Sharpening the Eye of the Eagle The Radar system Improvement Program allow the system to detect and track The reliability and maintainability of the (RSIP) provides the most significant targets at up to twice the range of the RSIP-enhanced AWACS is improved to upgrade to the AWACS Radar since its original AWACS . increase Radar availability and reduce development in the early 1970s. RSIP The improvement in detection performance repair time. enhances the operational capability of the is accompanied by impressive improvements RSIP provides multiple Radar modes to AWACS Radar against the growing threats in range and angular resolution. Range allow for operational flexibility. Some of posed by smaller targets, cruise missiles, resolution is increased by up to 6 to 1, and these modes are described below.

10 And electronic countermeasures. azimuth and elevation accuracy by up Battle-proven in all operations since to 2 to 1. P E N. R I. Kosovo, RSIP has demonstrated excellent A. The Radar 's ability to respond to electronic N. performance and reliability. S H. attack is significantly improved as well. G. RSIP introduces advanced pulse Doppler This improvement is the result of waveforms, pulse compression, and new incorporating the latest technology in TH. processing algorithms implemented by LE. clutter rejection, processing, and man hardware and software improvements that E. G. machine interface (MMI). A. Y RSIP. E. E. E E. OF TH. Multi-mode Radar : Flexibility to Watch the Skies Pulse Doppler Nonelevation Beyond-the-Horizon (BTH) Interleaved Scan (PDNES) The BTH mode uses pulse Radar without PDES and BTH can be used simultaneously The PDNES mode provides Surveillance of Doppler for extended range Surveillance with either portion active or passive.