Having highly accurate intelligence on the composition, location and movement of enemy forces allows commanders to employ their own forces to achieve a decisive advantage by delivering either a knock-out blow or protecting their own limited forces from attack.
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Pin-point ground surveillance and tracking is carried out by Northrop Grumman E-8 JSTARS NORTHROP GRUMMAN |
Airborne surveillance, command-and-control systems are now used universally by western air forces and many other countries that recognise the need for this capability. Aircraft fitted with radar to extend an effective surveillance range have been in service since the 1950s because it was recognised that by elevating the radar, the problems caused by the Earth's curvature partially could be overcome. In the 1970s the US military began to field sophisticated communications systems on their airborne radar aircraft and so turn them into fully functional command platforms. This meant that the military could coordinate air operations over a wide area and pass information via electronic data links to other aircraft, ships or ground-based command posts. The Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) aircraft became the standard by which such aircraft were judged. In the 1991 Gulf War, USAF AWACS controlled more than 1,000 aircraft sorties a day throughout the middle east. Closely linked with AWACS radar systems are electronic and signals intelligence gathering aircraft that provide mutually supporting intelligence to commanders.
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A JSTARS battle-management centre aboard an E-8C NORTHROP GRUMMAN |
The capability provided by AWACS for air warfare was looked upon enviously by ground commanders who began programmes to field their own equivalents. These also saw action for the first time in the Gulf War and are now the focus of major procurement programmes.
The Boeing AWACS first flew in 1972 and since then approximately 34 E-3A/B/C aircraft have been delivered to the USAF, 18 E-3A operate with the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force, seven E-3D are in British Royal Air Force service, five E-3A were bought for the Royal Saudi Air Force and France has four E-3F. Based on the famous Boeing 707 airliner, the E-3 is recognisable immediately by its large rotating radar dome above the rear fuselage.
Because of its large airframe and fuel capacity the AWACS has extreme endurance, making it possible to remain on station over remote regions for long periods. Its multiplicity of communications links means it can talk to a large number of other aircraft, ships or ground stations. The Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) AN/APY-1/2 surveillance radar can operate in a number of modes to monitor aircraft, low-flying cruise missiles and ships.
Boeing and their sub-systems suppliers have upgraded the basic AWACS regularly to ensure it is capable of dealing with newly evolved threats. Boeing also have offered the basic systems for sale on non-707 airframes in the expectation that venerable 707s will not be available for conversion and Japan is to take delivery of four AWACS based on the Boeing 767 airframe.
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Real-time battle-management information is provided to operators inside JSTARS E-8C aircraft NORTHROP GRUMMAN |
To meet the needs of US Navy carrier battlegroups, Northrop Grumman fielded the E-2 Hawkeye carrier-borne airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft in 1971. The basic Hawkeye has undergone considerable evolution since then but its role remains the same. Essentially it is a scaled-down AWACS optimised for naval operations. However its has a smaller crew and less automated systems than an AWACS so it cannot deal with the same volume of traffic as its bigger brother. The Hawkeye is considerably cheaper than the Boeing AWACs and has been bought by the US Navy (95), France (3 or 4), Taiwan (4), Japan (10), Singapore (4), Egypt (5), Israel (4). At the 1996 Farnborough Air Show Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin announced a partnership to market the Hawkeye's AEW system on a variety of platforms including the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orion.
| The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is the eyes and ears of the US Navy |
Russia's Air Defence Force (PVO) has had a long interest in airborne early warning systems because of its need to monitor the country's long borders. It fields a force of sixteen A-50 Mainstay based on the Ilyushin Il-76 airframe that is thought to have replaced the veteran Tupolov Tu-126 Moss. Three or four versions of the Mainstay were believed to have been exported to Iraq in the late 1980s under the designation Adan, and two are now in Iranian service after they flew there to safety during the Gulf War.
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Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS in NATO service TIM RIPLEY |
The electronics industry in Israel is reported to have developed a number of highly advanced AEW platforms using several types of radar system. Israel Aircraft Industries has exported a version of the Boeing 707, called the Phalcon, to Chile that uses an El/2075 L-band solid-state radar system.
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USAF is the largest user of Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS USAF/JCC(D) |
In the wake of Argentine missile attacks on British warships in the Falklands, the Royal Navy began a rapid programme to field a helicopter-borne AEW system. The result is the nine Westland Sea King AEW2s equipped with GEC- Marconi Searchwater radar that are stationed aboard its Invincible class carriers. GEC-Marconi are reported to have signed a deal to supply a version of the radar called the Argus to China for installation in the Y-8 or Tu-154 aircraft. The Israelis also are reported to have sold their Phalcon systems to the Chinese for installation in Il-76 airframes.
To provide ground commanders with real-time surveillance of a battlefield the USAF and US Army joined forces in the 1980s to produce the Northrop Grumman E-8 joint surveillance target attack radar system (JSTARS) aircraft. Like the AWACS, this is based on the veteran Boeing 707 airframe. The forward fuselage is modified to incorporate a Norden multi-mode radar that can operate in synthetic-aperture- radar (SAR) mode in order to identify vehicles and buildings or in Doppler mode to track moving targets.
The JSTARS also feature sophisticated electronic data links so that images from its radar systems can be down-loaded to ground headquarters in real-time. The system was used regularly during the Gulf War and in Bosnia to give commanders an unprecedented view of the battle-field and allowed them to track friendly and enemy troop movements. The Pentagon is to field a force of 20 JSTARS during the 1990s and moves are in hand to persuade NATO to buy a multi-national JSTARS force along the lines of its AWACS unit. Currently no other nation posses a similar capability to the US JSTAR, although Israel is believed to have modified a number of its Grumman OV-1 Mohawk and Boeing 707s to use SAR in order to monitor its borders.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are in competition to sell a ground surveillance capability to the UK under the ASTOR programme. However the NATO programme looks likely to attract the UK's money.
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Carrier-borne, electronic-intelligence gathering is carried out by Lockheed-Martin ES-3A Shadows USAF/JCC(D) |
Radar is the principle means of detection used in air and ground surveillance platforms but it is being augmented by other systems to provide redundancy and counter the development of radar-evading stealth technology. By providing additional means of locating and identifying contacts, operators have a back-up in case of radar malfunction and the means to confirm the identity of radar contacts. Also there may be tactical reasons for switching off radar emissions to stop an enemy locating or jamming them. So-called passive surveillance means that electronic (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) that rely on monitoring of enemy radar and radio communications traffic are attracting a growing amount of interest. During the cold war these systems were used primarily for strategic reconnaissance against the Soviet Union but during the past six years they have been engaged in crisis-management missions to support peacekeeping and enforcement operations.
These systems come in two main forms, either large specialist platforms or sub-systems for use on AWACS or JSTARS-type air frames.
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The Boeing RC-135 is USAF's premier electronic intelligence-gathering platform USAF/JCC(D) |
The USAF operates 16 Boeing RC-135U/V/W ELINT/SIGINT aircraft that are full of electronic equipment to locate and identify enemy radio and radar installations. Electronic data links then pass this intelligence instantly to other aircraft, ships or ground platforms. The US Navy operates 10 Lockheed Martin EP-3E/J Aries II and 16 Lockheed Martin ES-3A Shadows that have a similar capability to the RC-135. The US Army uses light Beechcraft RC-12 and RU-21 for battlefield ELINT work. Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Germany have worked closely with US electronic intelligence gathering units using the Nimrod R.1, C.160 Gabriel, DC-8 Sarigue, G.222V, EP-3C and Atlantic aircraft. US firms E-Systems, Loral and Lockheed Sanders are involved heavily in providing systems for US and allied ELINT/SIGINT aircraft.
| The Northrop Grumman carrier-based E-2C all-weather airborne early warning/command and control aircraft automatically detects, identifies and tracks air and maritime targets over water, and air targets over land at ranges of more than 300 miles |
Outside NATO, Israel and South Africa have advanced electronic intelligence-gathering capabilities that are mounted on a variety of platforms, including Boeing 707s, OV-1 Mohawks and E-2Cs.
Surveillance and intelligence-gathering aircraft are expensive additions to any air force but the information they provide is invaluable to commanders. Without that information commanders are blind on the battlefield. In the Gulf War and Bosnia aircraft such as the AWACS, JSTARS and E-2C provided western forces with a decisive advantage over more numerous opponents. Information is power.
| Royal Air Force E-3Ds were customised with turbo-fan engines and extra-mission systems |
