Airborne Early Warning: Global industry round-up

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India

Indian Forces have announced that they will begin procurement of two Israeli-made Phalcon AWACS at a cost of over £500 million. The draft contract – which is augmenting the £678 million deal between India, Russia and Israel completed last year and saw three Phalcons enter IAF service – is undergoing its final stages of clearance.

India has seen delays to its efforts to develop indigenous mini-AWACS since 2004, when it spent £132 million on Brazilian Embraer-145s to carry its AEW&C technology.

Pakistan

Following the acquisition of its first of four Swedish-built SAAB 2000 AWACS in 2009, The PAF has been delivered the first of another deal on four more advanced Chinese ZDK-03 Karakoram Eagle AWACS for £175 million.

USA

The AWACS Netcentric-Communications Capabilities team is working with Boeing to deliver new capabilities to its AWACS, as requested directly by operational users. This includes Situational Awareness Data Link to properly integrate Link 16 with all platforms, a Beyond-Line-of-Sight to extend Link 16 range, and an upgrade to its Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS).

France

A £113 million project is being proposed to upgrade the Navy’s E-2C Hawkeye to enhance situational awareness through the use of APX-122 interrogation friend-or-foe (IFF) Mode 5/S interrogator systems, APX-123 transponder systems, and ALQ-217 radar warning and electronic support measure systems. The modernisation plan would also provide training and logistical support.

Russia

Russia’s Air Force has deployed its newly modernised Beriev A-50U AWACS. Improvements include increased range, Combat ID, and satellite communication. Along with these enhancements, weight of the aircraft has been reduced, allowing longer air time before refueling.

Canada

General Dynamics Canada has completed delivery of electronics upgrades for NATO’s AWACS fleet and two simulators, which includes speedier retrieval of situational awareness data and air-to-ground battlefield management. GDC also engineers mission data recorders and mission LAN systems for NATO.

The development follows an announcement made by Canadian Forces in June that it plans to withdraw its own AWACS from the NATO fleet.

UK

The 11^th Annual Airborne Early Warning and Battle Management event is scheduled to take place in London in January 2012. Briefings will include feedback from the NATO AWACS commander on operations in Libya, exploration of emerging AEW&C forces, and detailed updates on the operational performance of the E-3 Sentry, E-2C/D Hawkeye, Sea King Mk. 7 ASaC, 340 AEW, the 550 CAEW, and others.

Australia

The Royal Australian Air Force has seen its Boeing 737 AEW&C Wedgetail successfully take part in a training exercise involving UK, Malaysian, Singaporean, and New Zealand forces, marking important progress to a deal that has seen six of the aircraft delivered. The “pocket AWACS”, which is half the weight of an E-3, intended for the platform to greatly enhance joint capabilities and consistent surveillance of the region.

South Korea

The Republic of Korea Air Force has received the first of four Boeing Peace Eye 737 AEW&C aircraft, which includes Northrop Grumman’s Multirole Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar. The contract includes ground support and training, and maintenance. Final delivery of the entire fleet is due for 2012.

Contributor:   Richard de Silva

Richard de Silva reports on defence and security at DefenceIQ.com. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and Film and a Master’s Degree in Film from Kingston University, London.

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