Until recently Northrop Grumman’s E-2 Hawkeye series and the Boeing AWACS dominated the AEW market
	Sid McQuilter reports on global efforts to field advanced airborne early warning and radar surveillance aircraft		Airborne early warning aircraft in demand
			Dominance of a nation’s airspace is crucially dependent on timely and accurate information of all air activity that might pose a threat. In numerous conflicts, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft have proved the key to successful prosecution of both defensive and offensive air operations. By mounting powerful radars in aircraft and then flying them to high altitude, it is possible to generate an air picture showing friendly and hostile aircraft at a range of hundreds of miles. A suite of radio communications links allow controllers flying in the early warning aircraft to direct friendly fighters and air defence missile batteries to counter enemy threats. Increasingly data links are being fielded on AEW aircraft to allow the air picture it collects to be shared with other aircraft, ships and ground-based command posts. Protection of a nation’s air space is of such critical importance that many countries are keen to field their own independent AEW systems. Until recent years, Boeing’s E-3 AWACS and Northrop Grumman’s E-2 Hawkeye dominated the global market for AEW systems. Rapid advances in radar, computer and communications technology has led to a number of companies around the world entering the market. New contenders One of the first new generation of AEW systems to win an export order was the Israeli Aircraft Industries’ (IAI)/Elta Phalcon phased-array radar, that was purchased by Chile in the early 1990s. This nose-and-fuselage-mounted radar is installed on a converted Boeing 707 airliner. China has bought the Phalcon radar with a view to it being mounted on a Ilyushin Il-76 air frame, although the Chinese/Israeli/Russian programme is believed to be progressing slowly. Brazil ordered a large AEW system to protect the Amazon basin region in 1997, based on the Swedish Ericsson Microwave System’s ERIEYE radar and mission system. The Brazilian company, Embraer, is installing the Swedish radar in an EMJ-145 regional jet, in co-operation with France’s Thomson-CSF. In July 1999 the Brazilian, Swedish and French team scored a major breakthrough when they won the contract to supply the Greek Air Force with four ERIEYE systems based on the EMB-145 airframe. The ERIEYE entered service with the Royal Swedish Air Force in 1997 on a Saab S100B Argus air frame, providing air defence from the Arctic to the Baltic. Australia The requirement of the Australian Defence Forces to field a new AEW system in the early days of this century, dubbed Project Wedgetail, prompted an upsurge of activity among the major players in the market. The potential offered by electronically steerable radar antennas allows the replacement of the large rotating radar domes associated with vintage AEW platforms. Contract negotiations began with the Australian Department of Defence on Project Wedgetail in July 1999 after a Boeing-led team beat a Raytheon-led team. These discussions are covering a wide range of items including a review of the work to be accomplished in Australia. During the review, Boeing reconfirmed that Boeing Australia would use a new facility to be built at Royal Australian Air Force Amberley in Queensland to modify five 737-700 increased gross weight (IGW) aircraft to meet the Wedgetail’s specific requirements. Boeing is offering its next-generation 737-700 IGW aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force for project Wedgetail, an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system. The AEW&C system combines the new high-performance Boeing 737-700 IGW aircraft with the Northrop Grumman multi-role electronically scanned array (MESA) radar. Included in the platform are an advanced identification friend-or- foe system; an expanded, passive surveillance system; a flexible, open-system architecture; and a highly effective self-defence capability. The 737-700 features state-of-the-art avionics, navigation equipment and flight deck. It has a maximum speed of 0.78 Mach and an operational ceiling of 41,000 ft. Using the latest sensor technology, Northrop Grumman’s 360-degree, steerable-beam MESA radar is able to track air and sea targets simultaneously and can help the operator track high-performance aircraft while continuously scanning the operational area. More than 1,300 hours of wind tunnel testing have demonstrated the compatibility of the aircraft and the radar. The 737 AEW&C platform, with its advanced technology and complete interoperability with the E-3 and 767 airborne warning-and-control system aircraft, is designed to fill the surveillance needs of Australia. Joining Boeing and Northrop Grumman’s electronic sensors and systems sector on the Wedgetail team are Boeing Australia Limited and British Aerospace Australia. British Aerospace Australia is providing electronic support measures, a passive surveillance system, electronic warfare self-protect subsystem, operational mission simulator, mission support segment and the AEW&C support facility. Australia’s Qantas Airways is providing maintenance support for the aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force plans to enter the AEW&C capability into service in 2003. The Boeing 737 AEW&C system: The Royal Australian Air Force is considering the 737-700 for its Project Wedgetail New contracts In July 1999, Taiwan expanded its AEW capability by ordering two E-2T Hawkeye AEW aircraft worth $400 million to supplement the four already delivered. The new aircraft boast the more powerful Lockheed Martin APS-145 radar, as opposed to the older APS-138 radars used by the first batch of Hawkeyes. The next big contest in the AEW market is likely to take place in Turkey, where a $750-million programme is at stake. This looks like being a re-run of the Australian Wedgetail drama, with Northrop Grumman and Boeing offering a new generation 737 solution. Raytheon is offering a rival solution based on an Airbus A310 platform with IAI/Elta supplying the radar. Although Turkey’s defence procurement programme suffered a set back because of the series of earthquakes that hit the country during 1999, it is expected that the AEW contract will get the go- ahead this year. The project is considered of such high priority that the Turkish defence ministry has re-arranged its procurement plans to put the AEW order to the top of its order book. Future potential New electronically scanned radars and high-powered computers are now available at relatively low cost, and very capable AEW systems are rapidly coming within the price range of an increasing number of countries. Middle east countries are particularly keen to acquire independent AEW capabilities to give them information dominance. A number of Arab Gulf Co-Operation Council countries have long had a requirement for national AEW systems to reduce their reliance on Saudi Arabia and the US for air pictures of the region. A number of countries in the Indian sub-continent and in the far east have requirements for AEW that look like being addressed during the present decade. © The Erieye airborne early warning and control system that was ordered by Brazil in 1997 to protect the Amazon basin region
	"Protection of a nation’s air space is of such critical importance that many countries are keen to field their own independent AEW systems"