Squadron Service - United States Air Force
The US Air Force operates the E-3 in three Wings. Most of the aircraft (25) are assigned to the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, which operates the 960th, 963rd, 964th, 965th and 966th Airborne Air Control Squadrons (ACCS). The 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan, operates the 961st ACCS (3 aircraft), and the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, operates the 962nd ACCS (4 aircraft). The USAF Reserve Command's 513th Air Control Group/570th ACCS also operates the type.
The first E-3 built was 71-1407, which was rolled out at Boeing's Seattle plant on February 1st 1972. Engineering, test and evaluation began on the aircraft in October 1975.
The first E-3A to be delivered to the USAF was 75-0557, which arrived at Tinker AFB on March 23rd 1977, having been flown from Seattle by Lt Col Maury Hardy. The aircraft was due to make its first sortie shortly afterwards, but a fuel leak caused the mission to be aborted on the runway. After the fault was fixed, Lt Col Hardy and another pilot named Joseph Price flew the first sortie on March 31st 1977.
The E-3 achieved Initial Operational Capability on April 16th 1978.
In March 1979 two E-3s temporarily operating at Kadena Air Base, Japan, were deployed to Saudi Arabia in light of an on-going border dispute between North and South Yemen.
In early 1979 the 552nd assumed an on-going commitment to support the North American Aerospace Defense Command in defence of the North American continent.
In October 1979 two E-3s and nearly 240 aircrew and support personnel deployed at short notice to South Korea following the assassination of President Park. Flying more than 370 hours during 54 missions, E-3 crews provided surveillance of the Korean peninsula while adjacent to hostile airspace.
From December 1979 to May 1980, two E-3s, crews and support personnel deployed to the European theater to conduct joint training in Central Europe and the Mediterranean area with elements of the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet and allied forces. This deployment marked the first time that the E-3 had operated in Egypt.
On May 23rd 1980 the 961st AWACS was activated at Kadena AB, Japan.
In September 1980 four E-3s and almost 200 wing members again deployed to Saudi Arabia in an operation called Elf One which continued for over 8 years. They provided round-the-clock airborne radar coverage, and enhanced Saudi air defences during the Iran/Iraq war.
In December 1980 four E-3s, crews and support people deployed to Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, conducting joint training with elements of the NATO air defense network. The deployment coincided with increased international tension over a possible Warsaw Pact invasion of Poland. Two aircraft flew from Keflavik Naval Air Station, Iceland, where they were operating with the 960th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron.
In October 1981 the 552nd returned to Egypt with two E-3s and some 200 operations and support personnel. The deployment followed the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
In December 1981 the US Air Force took delivery of its 25th E-3. The delivery brought a new updated version of the Airborne Warning and Control System, called the US/NATO standard.
E-3s from the 552nd supported Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada during November 1983.
In October 1983 the wing was redesignated the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Division. Under a second reorganization in April 1985, the division was once again redesignated a wing, becoming a subordinate unit of the newly activated 28th Air Division.
The E-3 achieved Full Operational Capability in June 1984 on delivery of the final aircraft.
In 1986 the 552nd Wing, in accordance with a Presidential National Security Directive, further expanded its counter-narcotic operations. This marked the beginning of the wing's intense anti-drug commitment.
On July 1st 1986 the 962nd AWACS was activated at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.
On April 16th 1989 the final two E-3s returned from Saudi Arabia, marking the end of the European Liaison Force One (ELF-One) commitment. The 552nd had logged more than 6000 sorties and 87000 flying hours during the eight and a half years of ELF-One.
In December 1989, the 552nd Wing took part in operation Just Cause, designed to liberate the people of Panama from dictator Manuel Noreiga.
In January 1990, the wing deployed personnel and several E-3s to NAS Roosevelt Roads, located near San Juan, Puerto Rico. This deployment, known as Agate Path, established a forward operating base for counter-narcotic operations in the Central American region.
In August 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, the 552nd deployed E-3s and personnel to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in support of operations Desert Shield and Proven Force, respectively.
When Desert Storm began on January 17th 1991, four USAF Sentries were in the air at all times. One was assigned to each of the eastern, central and western theatres of operation, and the fourth was an air spare and stayed ready for contingencies. The E-3s were protected by F-15s flying High Asset Value combat air patrols. Typical DS missions lasted 16 to 18 hours, and each E-3 carried at least two full crews. The Sentries controlled more than 3000 combat sorties per day, and achieved a mission capable rate of 98 percent. Almost two-thirds of the USAF Sentry fleet saw service during the Gulf War.
The USAF also had E-3s at Incirlik in Turkey, which flew in support of Operation Proven Force. The 7440th Provisional Wing's E-3s logged over 490 flying hours and controlled 4401 sorties.
In March 1991, after the Gulf War, the wing remained in the Persian Gulf region. Wing personnel and aircraft in Saudi Arabia continued in a post-war surveillance role, while wing assets in Turkey continued to provide surveillance support for operation Provide Comfort, enforcing the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq.
Aircrews from the 552nd flew 7314.7 combat hours during Desert Storm, with an average 91.36% mission-capable rate. They controlled 31924 strike sorties without losing a single Allied aircraft in air-air action. In addition, E-3s controlled 20401 aerial refuelling sorties.
In October 1991, the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing was redesignated the 552nd Air Control Wing.
NATO reduced its Sentry presence at Keflavik, Iceland, on April 1st 1992, when responsibility for the detachment reverted to the 552nd ACW. It had been shared by the USAF and NATO since 1990.
In May 1992, the 28th Air Division was inactivated and the 552nd Air Control Wing was reorganized.
In January 1993, a 552nd ACW E-3, flying a Southern Watch mission over the Persian Gulf region, guided an air strike against Iraqi ground targets in response to Iraqi violations of United Nations resolutions. Four days later, an E-3 guided a USAF F-16 in the interception and destruction of an Iraqi MiG-29. This attack sequence followed a violation of the United Nations' imposed no-fly zone over Northern Iraq by the Iraqi pilot.
In September 1994, the 552nd Wing flew 23 missions over Haiti, in support of Operation Uphold Democracy from forward operating locations and Tinker AFB. This operation ousted the military to return the elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
On September 22nd 1995, E-3B Sentry 77-0354, callsign "Yukla 27", under the command of Capt. Glenn "Skip" Rogers, crashed shortly after taking off from Elmendorf AFB after both engines on the port side ingested dozens of Canada geese. All 24 on board were killed. This was the first loss of an E-3.
In October 1995 the first USAF aircraft was fitted with the AN/AYR-1 ESM system.
The US Air Force Reserve activated the 513th Air Control Group on March 15th 1996 at Tinker AFB.
Operation Provide Comfort ended on December 31st 1996, and operation Northern Watch was born. E-3s operating out of Incirlik AB in Turkey help in the enforcement of the no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq.
The USAF Reserve Command's 513th Air Control Group deployed to Europe in May 1997 to take part in exercises Central Enterprise and Baltops '97.
The USAF Reserve Command's 507th Wing at Tinker AFB was re-designated an air refuelling wing on August 1st 1997, after the 513th Air Control Group and the 570th Airborne Air Control Squadron's chain of command was changed from the 507th to the 10th Air Force. The 570th AACS shares its E-3 aircraft with an active-duty ACC unit in an associate unit capacity.
The 552nd ACW declared initial operational capability on the E-3 Block 30/35 upgrade in early May 1998. At IOC the Wing had 10 Block 30/35 aircraft, with the remainder to be delivered by 2001.
On June 4th 1998 Boeing installed its first production phased-array antenna on JE-3C 73-1674 in preparation for its participation in the USAF's Expeditionary Force Experiment (EFX 98). The antenna will allow the carrier aircraft to receive large amounts of data quickly, and provide instantaneous communication between satellites and mobile platforms.
On September 9th 1998 US Air Force Reserve Command's 513th Air Control Group was named the best Air Force Reserve Command Unit of the Year.
The USAF's EFX 98 experiment using JE-3C 73-1674 started on September 14th 1998 and lasted for two weeks.
Boeing completed the first Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) modification on a USAF aircraft at the end of September 1998, and also announced that the first E-3D RSIP upgrade had started.
USAF E-3s took part in Operation Desert Fox against Iraq during December 1998.
The initial operational capability of the 513th Air Control Group was announced on March 25th 1999.
USAF E-3s took part in Operation Allied Force against Serbia which started on March 24th 1999. Some RSIP-equipped aircraft took part in this operation, apparently with good results.
On September 13th 1999 it was announced that the US Secretary of Defense had authorized the deployment of Pacific Air Forces aircrews to support the 552nd ACW in Saudi Arabia. Within seven days of the SECDEF authorization, a PACAF aircrew from the 961st AACS at Kadena AB, Japan, was in place supporting Operation Southern Watch.
On March 15th 2000 the 363rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron reached a deployment milestone of 3500 consecutive days serving in Saudi Arabia. The squadron has accumulated a total of almost 7000 days in country since it was first deployed in March 1979.
From May 12th to the 26th 2000, 60 reservists from the 513th Air Control Group and the 970th AACS took part in two weeks of training at Maple Flag, held at the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in Canada.
On December 5th 2000 it was announced that the USAF had awarded Boeing a contract for 19 RSIP kits for the US E-3 fleet.
The final USAF Block 20/25 E-3 began the upgrade to Block 30/35 standard in March 2001.
In March 2001 the US Air Force reactivated the 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron at Tinker AFB to give the 552nd Air Control Wing the resources to meet the demands of the expeditionary air forces. Each of the 552nd's squadrons support two AEFs. The remaining two AEFs will be supported by E-3 crews from Pacific Air Forces Command.
In June 2001 the US Air Force's AWACS program office signed a $7 billion contract with Boeing and its subcontractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which continues modernisation, sustainment and support of the Air Force's E-3 Sentry fleet for the next 18 years.
On June 26th 2001 the USAF announced that its upgraded Airborne Warning and Control System (ie the RSIP-modified E-3 fleet) had reached IOC with delivery of the seventh modified aircraft. The whole fleet is scheduled to be upgraded by February 2005.
The 960th AACS began its first operational deployment (as the 960th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron) to Incirlik AF as part Operation "Northern Watch" in August 2001.
On September 11th 2001, 552nd ACW aircrews were ordered to patrol the airspace over the eastern United States. These sorties went under the name "Operation Noble Eagle", which continues to this day.
USAF and RAF E-3s played an important part in Operation "Enduring Freedom" over Afghanistan, which started on October 7th 2001.
On November 19th 2001 the Boeing Company announced that the USAF Electronic Systems Center had exercised options for the purchase and installation of 13 RSIP kits for the USAF E-3 fleet. The uprated systems will be installed at Tinker AFB through 2004.
On November 27th 2001 the Griffon Corporation announced that that its electonic information systems subsidiary, Telephonics Corporation, had received a $13.5 million contract from the USAF to upgrade the entire USAF E-3 fleet with the latest IFF transceiver technology.
Operation Iraqi Freedom, the air component of which started on March 21st 2003, involved several US and British E-3s in the air at all times. Nineteen E-3s were deployed in total. The 363rd EAACS operated six E-3B/Cs from Prince Sultan AB in Saudi Arabia, and RAF 8 and 23 Squadrons operated their E-3Ds from the same base. Three 552nd ACW aircraft were based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
E-3s worked closely with the E-8 JSTARS and RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft throughout OIF to direct strike aircraft to emerging threats and to keep commanders in touch with the 'air picture'.
In October 2002 crews of the 552nd ACW had logged 10000 flying hours in support of Operation "Enduring Freedom". This was achieved by the 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron deployed to Central Asia.
Between May 28th and June 8th 2003, 552nd ACW personnel deployed in support of OEF and Operation "Iraqi Freedom" returned to Tinker AFB. Sentry crews provided 24-hour surveillance of OIF and OEF battle space. They supported OEF from September 27th 2001 to May 23rd 2003, and flew 1,259 sorties totaling 15,713 hours. Crews flew OIF missions from March 19th to June 8th 2003; during that period they flew 313 sorties totaling 3,115 hours.
A USAF E-3 flew three missions over the Patuxent River ranges in October 2004 to test the latest IFF Mode 5 transmitter.
On April 5th 2005 Boeing announced the completion of the final RSIP kit installation on the USAF's E-3 fleet.
March 23rd 2007 was the 30th anniversary of the first E-3 arriving at Tinker AFB (75-0557).
The 552nd Air Control Wing celebrated the 30th anniversary of the E-3 Sentry at Tinker AFB June 29th through July 1st 2007, with 552nd commanders and airmen, past and present, coming from around the globe to share their stories.
In early June 2008 Boeing completed the integration of network-centric capabilities into two operational USAF E-3s for a demonstration at Empire Challenge 2008, a joint military exercise held between July 7th and August 1st at China Lake.
The network-centric modifications allow greater use of AWACS mission data, better access to external Web services data and an enhanced suite of battle-management tools. All are enabled by increased processing capability and modern mission-computing software. The modifications include the high-speed Tactical Targeting Network Technology system, which will connect the aircraft to other assets throughout the airborne battlespace. The aircraft also will connect with battle managers on the ground through a longer range Beyond Line-of-Sight system called Inmarsat.
In addition to their standard system display, the AWACS operators at Empire Challenge had a second display accessible from their existing keyboard. This auxiliary display offers network-access services such as chat, tracking of friendly forces, Air Tasking Order updates and the status of time-critical targets. The display also will show air tracks and weapon-target pairing using the new Block 40/45 Primary AWACS Display.
On August 20th 2008 a USAF E-3 made an emergency landing at Griffiss International Airport, New York after smoke was observed in the cockpit.
On August 28th 2009 E-3C 83-0008 suffered a nose gear malfunction on landing at Nellis AFB, causing a fire which was quickly extinguished. There were no injuries.
The investigation into this incident concluded that pilot error was to blame: the pilot and co-pilot lost track of their altitude about 100 feet above the ground, which caused the jet's nose wheel to hit the runway so hard that it broke the nose landing gear. The jet skidded down the runway for 4,500 feet before coming to a stop.
On October 18th 2010 E-3C 82-0007 became the first aircraft to begin the Block 40/45 upgrade. Block 40/45 includes new mission software which will enhance tracking and combat identification capabilities, in addition to providing operators with a better picture of the battlespace. A 1970s-vintage mission computer is being replaced by a new system with an open, network-based architecture, enabling future net-centric modifications.
The upgrade also allows for more sensor integration both on- and off-board the aircraft, improves the aircraft's data link infrastructure, improves machine-to-machine interaction and compresses the timeline from threat engagement to neutralization.
The Block 40/45 upgrade on 82-0007 was completed on May 17th 2011. The last of the intial six aircraft is scheduled to be finished in 2014. Members of the 552nd Air Control Wing will perform an initial operational test and evaluation from March to June 2012. The last of the remaining 25 aircraft is expected to roll off the line in 2020.
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