An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft. Used at a high altitude, the radars allow the operators to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft hundreds of miles away. AEW&C aircraft are used for defensive and offensive air operations. The system is used offensively to direct fighters to their target locations, and defensively to counter attacks. It can also be used to carry out surveillance, and C2BM (command and control, battle management) functions.
AEW&C is also known by the older terms "airborne early warning" (AEW) and "airborne warning and control system" (AWACS, pronounced /ˈeɪwæks/ AY-waks).
General characteristics
Modern AEW&C systems can detect aircraft from up to 250 miles (402 km) away, well out of range of most surface-to-air missiles. One AWACS plane flying at 30,000 feet (9,100 m) can cover an area of 120,460 square miles (311,990 km2). Three such aircraft in overlapping orbits can cover the whole of Central Europe.[1] In air-to-air combat, AEW&C systems can communicate with friendly aircraft, extend their sensor range and give them added stealth, since they no longer need their own active radar to detect threats. However, by the nature of radar, AWACS aircraft can be detected by opposing forces beyond its own detection range. This is because the outgoing pulse reduces in strength the further it travels. Therefore, a signal intended to reflect back must be strong enough to cover at least twice the distance between the sender and the targetmore in practice due to absorption losses.
History of development
As part of their early use of radar, the British developed a radar set that could be carried on an aircraft for "Air Controlled Interception". The intention was to cover the North West approaches where German long range Fw 200 Condor aircraft were a threat to shipping. A Vickers Wellington bomber (serial R1629) was fitted with a rotating antenna array. It was trialled for use against aerial targets and then for possible use against German E boats.[2][3] Another installation was a radar equipped Wellington used to direct Bristol Beaufighters onto Heinkel He 111s, which were air-launching V-1 flying bombs.[4]
In February 1944 the U.S. Navy ordered the development of a radar system that could be carried aloft in an aircraft as Project Cadillac. A prototype system was built and flown in August on a modified TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. Tests proved successful, with the system being able to detect low flying formations at a range in excess of 100 miles (161 km). The U.S. Navy then ordered production of the TBM-3W, the first AEW aircraft to enter service. TBM-3Ws fitted with the AN/APS-20 radar entered service in March 1945, with some 3640 eventually being constructed.[citation needed]
In 1958, the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau was also ordered to design an AWACS aircraft.[citation needed] After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu-95 and a Tupolev Tu-116, the decision was made to use the Tu-114 fuselage instead. This solved the problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu-95 and Tu-116 fuselage. To meet the flight range requirements, the plane was fitted with an air-to-air refueling receiver. The resulting plane, the Tu-126, was used by the Soviet Air Forces until it was replaced by the Beriev A-50 in 1984.
National use
Many countries have their own AEW&C systems, although the E-3 Sentry and E-2 Hawkeye are the most popular systems worldwide. The E-3 Sentry was built by the Boeing Defense and Space Group (now Integrated Defense Systems) and is widely considered[by whom?] to be an international benchmark for AEW systems. It is based on the Boeing 707 aircraft. The E-2 Hawkeye, which entered service in 1965, is arguably the most widely[citation needed] used AEW system. The E-3 Sentry is not strictly an AEW system, as it has far more functionality. For the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the E-3 technology has been fitted into the Boeing E-767.
The United Kingdom first deployed a substantial AEW capability with American A-1 Skyraiders, which in turn were replaced by the Fairey Gannet AEW3, using the same AN/APS-20 radar. When the Gannet was withdrawn, the Royal Air Force (RAF) redeployed the radars from the Gannets on Avro Shackleton MR2 airframes, redesignated Shackleton AEW2. These became the last piston-engined aircraft in the RAF. To replace the Shackleton AEW2, an AEW variant of the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod, known as the Nimrod AEW3, was ordered in 1974. However, after a protracted and problematic development, this was cancelled in 1986, and seven E-3Ds, designated Sentry AEW1 in RAF service, were ordered instead.[5]
The Russian Air Force is currently using around 1520 Beriev A-50 and A-50U "Shmel" in the AEW role. The "Mainstay" is based on the military/commercial Ilyushin Il-76 airframe, with a large non-rotating radome on the rear fuselage.
The Indian Air Force ordered three IAI Phalcon systems in 2004, the first of which first arrived on May 25, 2009.[6] The Royal Australian Air Force and the Turkish Air Force are deploying Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft. Unlike the E-2 and E-3, the Boeing 737 AEW&C does not have a radome. It will probably be marketed towards many existing E-2 customers, who would otherwise have no choice but to purchase a system intended for an aircraft carrier, due to lack of options.
The Swedish Air Force use the S 100B Argus as their AEW platform. The S 100B Argus is based on the Saab 340 with an Ericsson Erieye PS-890 radar.
The Hellenic Air Force, Brazilian Air Force and Mexican Air Force use the Embraer R-99 with an Ericsson Erieye PS-890 radar, as on the S 100B.
In early 2006, the Pakistan Air Force ordered six Saab 2000 fitted with Erieye AEW systems from Sweden in a deal valued roughly $1bn.[7] In December 2006, the Pakistan Navy requested three excess P-3 Orion aircraft equipped with Hawkeye 2000 AEW systems, the overall cost of the program is $855mn.[8] China and Pakistan also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development of AEW&C systems. A total of $278m AWACS deal has been struck with China.[9]
There are only four helicopter-based AEW platforms in existence. One is the Royal Navy Sea King ASaC7 naval helicopter. It is operated from the Royal Navy's Invincible-class aircraft carriers. The creation of Sea King ASaC7, and earlier AEW.2 and AEW.5 is the consequence of the harsh lessons learnt by the Royal Navy task force sent to the South Atlantic in the 1982 Falklands War. The lack of AEW coverage for the task force was a major tactical shortcoming at the time. Also, the Spanish Navy fields the SH-3 Sea King in the very same role, operated from the carriers Principe de Asturias and Juan Carlos I
Another helicopter is the Russian-built Kamov Ka-31, deployed by Indian Navy on Krivak-III frigates and reportedly used by the Russian Navy on its sole Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. It is fitted with E-801M Oko (Eye) airborne electronic warfare radar that can track up to 20 targets simultaneously with aerial detection range 90 mi (150 km) and surface warships up to 160 mi (250 km).
The most modern helicopter-based AEW is the AgustaWestland EH101 AEW of the Italian Navy.
Some AEW systems feature additional command and control functionality, airborne warning and control system aircraft. These are often referred to as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems.
AWACS systems
Phalcon-based 'Condor' AWACS aircraft of the Chilean Air Force
Boeing/Westinghouse AWACS system
This is a specific system with a rotating radar dome "rotodome" radome designed and built by Boeing (Defense & Space Group) using Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) radar. It is mounted on either the E-3 Sentry aircraft (Boeing 707) or more recently a modified Boeing 767. Only the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force has the 767 version, calling it the E-767.
Elta/Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) PHALCON radar
Israel has developed the IAI/Elta Phalcon system, which uses an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) in lieu of a rotodome antenna. The system was the first such advanced radar placed into service. The original Phalcon was mounted on a Boeing 707 platform [10] and developed for the Israeli Defense Force and for export. A Boeing 707 Phalcon system was delivered to Chile in 1993 where it is known as the Condor.
The Phalcon AEW&C aircraft is based on four sensors: phased-array radar, phased-array IFF, ESM/ELINT and CSM/COMINT. A unique fusion technology continuously cross-relates the data gathered by all sensors. When one of the sensors reports a detection, the system automatically initiates an active search of the complementary sensors.
The second generation improvement of the Phalcon system was accomplished in the development of the Israeli ground based IAI EL/M-2080 "Green Pine" radar target tracking system used by the Israeli Defense Force. This system has been exported to several countries.
Israel has recently put in service a third generation variant of the Phalcon system on a highly modified Gulfstream G550 [11] aircraft. Equipped with a more efficient and compact version of this airborne radar made by the ELTA division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), the Gulfstream 550 CAEW is a long endurance, high altitude, rapid pop-up and descent system with unobstructed 360° coverage.
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was marketing its Phalcon airborne early warning (AEW) system to China in competition with the British defense firm GEC-Marconi. In 1996 Tel Aviv and Beijing signed an agreement on purchasing the Phalcon radar system, which China insisted should be fitted onto Russian Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft. The Phalcon's triangular radar array would be mounted on the rear quarter fuselage of the IL-76 to provide full 360 degree scan coverage. Beijing was expected to acquire several PHALCON AEW systems, and reportedly could buy at least three more [and possibly up to eight] of these systems. But in July 2000 the United States pressured Israel to back out of a $1 billion agreement to sell China four Phalcon phased-array radar systems.
The India Air Force agreed in 2004 to purchase three systems for $1.1 billion. Russia and Israel on 10 October 2004 signed a tripartite agreement to facilitate the equipping of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the Phalcon airborne warning and control systems. The IAF plans to mount the Phalcon radar and surveillance systems from IAI on IL-76 aircraft supplied by Russia.India received its first AWACS on 25th May 2009. It landed in Jamnagar AFB in Gujarat completing its 8 hour long journey from Israel.
List of AEW&C aircraft
Royal Air Force Sentry AEW1 escorted by RAF Tornado F-3s
Brazilian made Embraer R-99A Erieye AWACS, at Elefsis AB, Greece
A Chinese Air Force KJ-2000
Brazil
* Embraer R-99A Erieye
China
* KJ-1 AEWC
* KJ-200
* KJ-2000
* Y-8 AWACS/Y-8J AEW
India
* DRDO AEW&CS
Iran
* HESA IrAn-140
Israel
* IAI 707 Phalcon
* IAI Eitam
Soviet Union/Russia
* Beriev A-50 Shmel
* Kamov Ka-31
* Tupolev Tu-126
Sweden
* Saab 340 Erieye
* Saab 2000 Erieye
United Kingdom
* Avro Shackleton AEW.2
* Fairey Gannet AEW.3
* Hawker Siddely Nimrod AEW3
* Westland Sea King AEW2/AEW5/ASaC7)
United States
* Boeing 737 AEW&C
* Boeing E-3 Sentry
* Boeing E-767
* Boeing PB-1W Flying Fortress
* Douglas AD-3/4/5W Skyraider
* Grumman AF-2W Guardian
* Grumman E-1 Tracer
* Grumman E-2 Hawkeye
* Grumman TBM-3W Avenger
* Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star
* Lockheed EC-130V Hercules
* Lockheed P-3 AEW&C
It is so, so common to see people move up aircraft to attack, fire missiles, and then strafe the enemy ships or attack them with bombs or torpedoes in the same post. This is totally unrealistic; they would be swatted out of the sky. A modern AEGIS system is capable of detecting normal-sized fighter planes at up to 300 or 400 kilometres if they are in the radar horizon. It is capable of firing so many missiles so quickly at these targets, and also at targets that it can't see but are being shown to it by look-down AWACs craft, that to charge aircraft in at the range required to strafe or launch torpedoes -- we're talking between 20 and 2 kilometres here -- is absolute suicide. It is also a godmod because realistically speaking they would not get within that range.
Note that to bring an aircraft within 2-20 kilometres of the enemy task fleet would require you to remove the following: Enemy AWACs for detection, enemy fighters for patrol, and then to fly below radar horizon so you can come in at say, 30 or 40 kilometres (the rough radar horizon for a ship trying to detect an aircraft flying at say, 100 or 50 metres or lower). This can not be done in one post. You can not skip 500 kilometres worth of layered defences in one post, because that is a godmod -- it's like saying you drive your tanks through the enemy lines straight to their capital, ignoring anything inbetween.
Another thing about range: you should check the combat radius of your aircraft and the range of the missiles they're using. If the enemy is 3,000 kilometres away, you cannot fire a Harpoon missile from an F-18; it would plunge harmlessly into the water. So you should know the ranges of your equipment. That is the single most important thing to know and use to your advantage in naval warfare, because unlike aerial and ground warfare, you cannot close the distance quickly. To cross 1,000 kilometres at 30 knots, takes 17 hours.
And, I'm sorry, but you will almost never get within strafing or torpedo range. Past defences such as long-range missiles, you also have to deal with short range missiles, fighters, guns, CIWS, so on and so forth. You cannot go in and come out; you might be able to attack, but there would certainly be no escape for your force. That's why proper naval combat is conducted with long range missiles, so your delivery strike elements like planes or ships ahead of the main force are not at threat. But that leads us on to our second point.
2. Reconaissance: To be able to attack an enemy you must first know where they are. Simple, huh? No. Not according to most NSers. What I commonly see is an assumption that they know where the enemy is. "The fighters set off to attack the Questarian fleet." Well, sorry, but unless you RP it, there's no way you'd know where my fleet is. You have to look for it. What can you use as reconnaissance to look for an enemy task force? I am going to list them in order of what I view as their effectiveness. You should use them all in conjunction with one another though.
1. AWACs
2. Any other aircraft
3. Radar satellites
4. Submarines
5. Any other satellites
I will explain them briefly.
1.AWACS: AWACS can fly out to long distances and their radars have long range. I have seen a description of an E-2C Hawkeye radar listed as 600km operable range. For targets which are stealth/low RCS, it is certainly lower, but as you can see, it's still a long distance. Now I will detail the two types of radar usage that an AWACS can use to detect things;
(a) Area Search (Active Radar) On an active radar, an AWACS is actively looking for targets with its radar. On the other hand, it is broadcasting, which will light it up on a radar sensor suite to be easily seen.
(b) Listening (Passive Radar) On a passive radar, an AWACS is not using its radar. It is simply listening for other radar sounds; i.e. things using their passive radar.
If you took two AWACS, broadly speaking, one on passive and one on active, the active one would pick up the passive one because it is looking for it, and the passive one would pick up the active one because it is broadcasting its radar. So you need a balance. Plus AWACS can turn their radars on and off very quickly, which will give them a bit of both aspects.
2. Any other aircraft: Other aircraft have RADARs too. A modern fighter with an AESA RADAR can perform the function of an AWACS, just less well. The advantage of this is that it can work in an "armed reconaissance role;" give it a lot of drop-tanks and some missiles and it can defend itself or an AWACS, whereas a lone AWACS has no way of defending itself.
3. Radar satellites: Commonly known as RORSATs; Radar Ocean Reconaissance Satellite, these are satellites in low earth orbit that use a radar to scan the ocean from space. Unfortunately, their resolution is very low, to the point where, like OTH radars, they may not be able to distinguish a cruiser from a tanker. Radar satellite technology is improving, but I don't rate its resolution or its reliability. It is certainly not what most RPers use it as, i.e. "Oh I found you with my satellites." Radar sats are definetly better than optical sats for doing this, but they're still not perfect, because there's no real way to distinguish what it is that you're looking at (contacts come up as pixels on a radar screen; on a high-resolution radar, an aircraft carrier could be 1000 pixels and a destroyer 100, but on a low-resolution radar, they both might be even 1 pixel) or even what nation's flag its flying under. They're also pretty much defenceless and can be shot down with ASATs within the opening days of a war.
4. Submarines: Submarines can stay underwater undetected and follow an enemy task group by the sound of their propellers, breaking off occasionally to send encoded message as to the makeup and whereabouts of who they're tailing. However, actually finding a task group is difficult in a large body of ocean, but relatively easy in a small one. It makes sense that the larger the body of water you're fighting in (i.e. the Atlantic vs the North Sea), the more difficult it is to find enemy ships; needles in haystacks, so to speak.
5. Other satellites: Almost entirely useless. No way to determine what nationality a ship is (suppose a situation where two nations use the same military equipment; how do you tell if its from Navalprimeristan or Warfareguideland?) Not to mention that scanning the Earth's water surfaces for ships on a satellite that is in orbit, i.e. that makes overpasses, is not reliable at all. You may take a picture of a fleet that you think is an enemy fleet. Well, it could be a friendly or neutral fleet and it could be 100 or 500 kilometres away by the time you act on it. So it's not reliable.
3. No understanding of how naval defences work: Ships are defended by layers of defences, if we don't include other things that cover them like other ships or fighters, then this is a rudimentary list of the defences enjoyed by one ship, largely in order of their usefuless in defending themselves.
(a) Long-range SAMs: Normally launched from VLS. Surface to air missiles with ranges between 200 and 500km. Normally have an active-radar seeker head and are reliably accurate.
(b) Short-range SAMs: Normally launched from either VLS or box launchers. Surface to air missiles with ranges between 5 and 50km. Very small so can be compactly fitted.
(c) CIWS: 20 or 30mm chainguns guided by radar. Can take down single missiles or even two missiles but could easily be overwhelmed. Smaller calibre CIWS like 20mm have doubtful value against very large missiles (6,000kg+)
(d) Guns: 76mm+ guns. Sometimes have a rapid rate of fire and are radar guided, but not fast enough to be reliably useful. Might down a missile or two. Fields of flak are not particularly useful because the amount of guns required to generate them would be better spent on more accurate missiles.
(e) Radar Jamming: Using EW equipment to scramble the lock of a missile. An anti-ship missile with an active radar that has a lock on your ship can be scrambled and so is likely to miss. Largely useless against missiles with inertial or IR terminal guidance.
(f) Chaff: Chaff. Designed to spoof radars into believing there are hundreds of targets in the air so it locks on to one of them instead of the ship. Largely useless against missiles with inertial or IR terminal guidance.
Most people bypass the first and second stages and go for the second. Anything past short-range SAMs is a last resort weapon, it should not be the first thing that comes up in your RPs. Long-range SAMS are long range for a reason, that is because they can shoot down or deter targets from entering the sort of range required to use last-resort weapons.
4. What about Battleships? Battleships with big main guns and thick armour are popular on NS. I should know; I export one, and she sells valiantly. (See what I did there?) But they are of no real concern to a serious opposition. Let's examine the difference between the battleship and the carrier, the two prime opponents:
1. Reconaissance capacity; the carrier has independent and organic reconaissance, in the form of AWACS. The battleship does not. UAVs do not have the range or radar capacity of an AWACS, and in any event, are not MT. There is no UAV with a range or a sensor suite to match an AWACS that is presently launchable from a carrier deck. The reason is that they are much more susceptible to crash-landings, they are much more likely to happen because our technology has not yet evolved to the level of making an "artificial pilot." One crash on a carrier deck can be fatal; it can put the carrier out of operation for days. The battleship can not find the carrier. The carrier can easily find the battleship, and because the battleship can't launch fighters, can monitor it with impunity.
2. Protection; The battleship is well protected with a lot of armour. It takes a large and powerful missile to penetrate the belt or deck armour of a well defended battleship. Carriers on the other hand, are usually unarmoured, and for good reasons (it detracts too much from hangar space, and damage takes much longer to repair). A hit with a missile might just bounce off a battleship but might severely damage a carriers deck. While this seems crucial, its meaningless. The carriers deck is vulnerable. The battleship's sensor suites, its radar and targeting systems, are also vulnerable. They cannot be protected because you can't shield radar behind inches of steel. One missile hit to the superstructure might knock out the radar permanently and force the ship to withdraw or else go blind. So all that armour is absolutely wasted.
3. Weaponry; Big guns versus planes. Yamato's 18.1in guns had a range of 42km~. An F-18 has a combat radius of 800 kilometres and can launch anti shipping missiles with a range of 300km. That's a real big difference right there. And a gigantic shell is not really as powerful as people suggest. It does weigh a lot; 1,200kg for Yamato's 18.1in guns, but supersonic missiles go much faster and can weigh much more. But guns have stupidly short range compared to aircraft.
Summary; Battleships have no organic reconnaissance, have very short ranged weapons, and are equally as vulnerable despite their thousands of tons of steel. Don't use them: it's a waste of money. And yes, that applies to the battleship that I export (If anybody wants to retcon their purchase of the Valiant class after reading this, that is acceptable. It's only fair.) The first thing that was destroyed on the Bismarck in the last battle with HMS Rodney and King George V were her fire directors. That's why she gave such a pathetic show against those two British battleships (as well as the destroyed rudder.) All the belt armour in the world didn't help her there; she was torn to shreds by accurate 16in fire from Rodney. One of my favourite quotes of the war, actually, comes from Rodney's CO. After delivering a volley of 16in fire and watching sailors jump overseas from the burning Bismarck, he ordered; "Cease fire! This is a holocaust!"
