Lining up for NATO

airborne early warning force

Tim Ripley profiles this unique multi-national unit and its aircraft.

Airborne early warning is such a vital military capability that in 1978 NATO decided to build and deploy a force of Boeing E-3A sentry airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft.
Since NATO's Airborne Early Warning Force (NAEWF) became operational in 1984 it has provided invaluable support to alliance exercises and operations and has more than justified its considerable cost. However to ensure that its AWACS aircraft's systems are effective well into the next century, NATO has embarked on a major upgrade programme.
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AWACS at night, NAEWF never sleeps

AWACS

The core of NAEWF is the NATO E-3A Component based at Geilenkirken, Germany that is equipped with 17 Boeing E-3A aircraft, instantly recognisable by the 30-foot diameter radar mounted above the rear fuselage. On board are computer and communications Systems that allow the 13 mission specialists to monitor air space and vector friendly fighters to intercept hostile air threats. By elevating a radar to altitude, detection range is dramatically increased. The original Westinghouse AN/APY-2 radar used on the E-3A can monitor approximately 312,000km2 at 30,000 feet. Targets flying at medium altitude can be detected at 520km and low-lying targets can be spotted at 400km.

Multi-national force

When NATO decided to buy AWACS, 13 alliance countries contributed to the purchase of E-3s and Britain and France purchased their own aircraft. Britain designated its aircraft as part of NAEWF and France's aircraft regularly work alongside their NATO counterparts.

The aircraft are registered to Luxembourg that owns no other military aircraft. Over 2,500 military personnel from 12 alliance countries assigned to NAEWF work in multi-national crews and most key appointments rotate between participating nations.
The force command headquarters is colocated at Mons, Belgium with the supreme headquarters allied powers Europe (SHAPE). It is the only unit directly under NATO control available to support the alliance's major operational commands. To enable the force to operate throughout NATO, forward operation locations and bases have been established in Norway, Turkey, Greece and Italy.

Gulf war to Kosnla

During the cold war NAEWF monitored air activity on the far side of the iron curtain to provide warning to alliance air defences of hostile activity. AWACS regularly participated in NATO exercises but the first real test of NAEWF came in 1990 during the Gulf crisis when NAEWF was deployed to protect Turkish airspace and when the UN imposed an air blockade on Libya NAEWF was called upon to monitor African air space.

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Mission specialists inside the AWACS choreograph combat air operations
When civil war broke out in Bosnia in 1992 NAEWF monitored the UN arms embargo and provided support to the UNHCR relief airlift to Sarajevo and monitored the no-fly zone (NFZ). Since 1992 NAEWF and the British and French E-3 components have maintained continuous radar surveillance over former Yugoslavia. In February 1994 fighter controllers on an NATO E-3A directed USAF fighters to intercept and shoot down three Serb fighters, a combat first for NAEWF. In 1995 NAEWF played a prominent role in Operation Deliberate Force when NATO combat aircraft bombed Serb targets. P49 Pic B.jpg (7282 bytes)
British E-30s make an invaluable contribution to NAEWF operations over the Balkans

Upgrades

The central role of NAEWF in alliance operations has meant sending several hundred million dollars to ensure its systems remain comparable with those on USAF AWACS aircraft. This programme intensified in 1993 when Boeing began the Memory Upgrade Programme that included enhancing the aircraft's IBM computers to CC2E standard. This increased the memory capacity of the system's computers by 400 per cent. In January 1993 Boeing was awarded a $294.6m contract to begin the Mod Block 1 phase of the modernisation programme. This included colour displays for the aircraft's mission specialists, 'have quick' secure anti-jamming UHF radios, Link 16 joint tactical information distribution system (JTIDS) data links to allow large quantities of information to be shared with other air, ground and sea units.
In 1994 a $16.6m contract was awarded to Boeing to install an electronic support measures (ESM) system that allows E-3As to detect and identify types of radar. NAEWF also is to benefit from the radar systems improvement programme (RSIP) that began in late 1997 and will run for two years. Boeing's RSIP is intended to show between 70 and 100 per cent increase in detection capability, 4:1 better range resolution and the ability to detect targets up to 10 times smaller than at present. Improvements are also being made to reduce maintenance requirements by 25 per cent. Weight and space reductions also will free up valuable resources to increase the performance of other systems on the aircraft.

AWACS success

Few could have expected NAEWF to perform as well as it has in some very demanding roles and even fewer could imagine the NATO alliance without NAEWF. Its contribution to UN and NATO peace-keeping missions has demonstrated the invaluable contribution airborne early warning can make in the new world disorder.
One E-3A flying at 9,150m has over 312,000 sq.km. in its field of view
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