The E-3 Sentry is far past its sell-by date—but with the need for AWACS persisting and no alternative in sight, the Air Force will need to go to increasing lengths to keep it alive.

The E-3 Sentry, known as the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), is old—so old that the jet has been referred to as being in “hospice care.” But with a forthcoming replacement, the E-7 Wedgetail, still years away from entering service, and with the AWACS’ services still in high demand, the E-3 will need to be kept “alive” for the foreseeable future—a task that is ongoing at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

“We’re still needed, the E-3—we’re still wanted,” a U.S. Air Force air battle manager told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “The big eye in the sky, people always want that.” 

Maintaining the E-3 Sentry

The E-3 is one of the most instantly recognizable aircraft in the world. With a distinctive, spinning radome atop its fuselage, the E-3 is impossible to miss. The radome is the crux of the airplane, and has been called “the most significant single tactical improvement since the advent of radar,” according to one general.

The radome is the primary difference between the E-3 and the civilian airliner from which the E-3 was derived, the Boeing 707. The 707, of course, debuted in the 1950s, right around the time that commercial aviation was becoming commonplace.

Of course, much has changed in both civil and military aviation since the 707 first flew. Three-quarters of a century have passed. And the aerospace sector has advanced dramatically. All of which is just a long way of saying that the E-3 is far past its sell-by date.

First debuting in the 1970s, the E-3 has been a staple of the Air Force’s early warning system for half a century, much of which was spent “in the heat and dust of the Middle East.” Today, the E-3 fleet “breaks frequently and demands constant vigilance from maintainers,” Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. Keeping the E-3 in the air, said General Mark Kelly, requires “miracle workers.”

One E-3 maintainer explained: “Just to get one generated and get in the air, we work about 16 hours—just to prep the aircraft. It’s not that the aircraft may be broken, that’s just the inspections…we do really diligent inspections. As the airframe gets older and older, the more we inspect and the harder we inspect. We start getting further into bigger components and making sure that we can safely fly the jet.”

The task of maintaining the E-3 is not just time-intensive, but also complex. “Inside, the E-3 combines analog and digital components,” Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. “Its varied sensors, miles of wire, and communications systems require a maintenance team of Airmen with 11 different Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs), three to four times the norm for other USAF airframes.”

Today, only sixteen of America’s E-3s are still airworthy. Thus, any adjustments in the flying or complicated maintenance schedule for one aircraft has implications for all of the other aircraft remaining in the fleet.

And when something on one E-3 breaks and needs to be replaced, that part has been increasingly hard to find. Boeing’s 707 production ended thirty years ago, and parts suppliers have begun to halt their own production. But with the need for AWACS aircraft persisting, the Air Force will need to go to increasing lengths to keep the E-3 alive until its replacement is finally available.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

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