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E-2 Hawkeye early warning and control aircraft

Editor — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 22:57:05 +0000

Introduction
The E-2 Hawkeye is the Navy's all-weather, carrier-based tactical
battle management airborne early warning, command and control aircraft.
The E-2 is a twin engine, five crewmember, high-wing turboprop aircraft
with a 24-foot diameter radar rotodome attached to the upper fuselage.

Capabilities and Features
The Hawkeye provides all-weather airborne early warning, airborne battle management and command and control functions for the Carrier Strike Group and Joint Force Commander. Additional missions include surface surveillance coordination, air interdiction, offensive and defensive counter air control, close air support coordination, time critical strike coordination, search and rescue airborne coordination and communications relay. An integral component of the Carrier Strike Group air wing, the E-2C uses computerized radar, Identification Friend or Foe and electronic surveillance sensors to provide early warning, threat analysis against potentially hostile air and surface targets.

History and Background
The continuous improvements in early airborne radars by 1956 led to the concept of an airborne early warning and command and control aircraft. The first aircraft to perform this mission was the Grumman E-1 Tracer (a variant of the S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft), which saw service from 1954 to 1964. The E-1's successor, the E-2 Hawkeye, was the first carrier-based aircraft designed from the outset for the all-weather airborne early warning and command and control mission. Since replacing the E-1 in 1964, the Hawkeye has been the "eyes of the fleet." Since its combat debut during the Vietnam conflict, the E-2 has served the Navy around the world.

Hawkeyes directed F-14 Tomcat fighters flying combat air patrol during the two-carrier battle group joint strike against terrorist-related Libyan targets in 1986. In the early 1990s, E-2s provided airborne command and control for successful Coalition Air Operations during the first Arabian Gulf War. Directing both land attack and combat air patrol missions over Iraq, the E-2 Hawkeye provided air control for the shoot-down of two Iraqi MIG-21 aircraft by carrier-based F/A-18s in the early days of the war. Later during the 1990s, E-2s supported Operations Northern and Southern Watch over Iraq. E-2s also supported NATO operations over the former Republic of Yugoslavia, including Operation Deny Flight. Recently in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, E-2 Hawkeyes provided critical Airborne Battle Management and Command and Control functions supporting numerous Close Air Support and Battlefield Interdiction missions. E-2s also have worked extremely effectively with U.S. law enforcement agencies in drug interdictions operating from bases both the United States and several foreign countries.

The current version of the Hawkeye, the E-2C, became operational in 1973, and surpassed one million flight hours in August 2004. The aircraft has undergone several upgrades to its active and passive sensors, engines and propellers. The newest variant of the E-2C (Hawkeye 2000) with its new mission computer, improved radar displays and Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), combined with the shipboard Aegis weapon system, will form the cornerstone of future sea based Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD).

Variants of the E-2C Hawkeye are also flown by the Egyptian Air Force, Japanese Self Defense Air Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Taiwan Air Force, and the French Navy.

Advanced Hawkeye (AHE)
Advanced Hawkeye (AHE), the newest variant of the E-2 aircraft platform, is currently in development and scheduled to be introduced to the Fleet in 2011. Using the E-2C Hawkeye 2000 configuration as a baseline, AHE will feature a state of the art radar with a two generation leap in capability and upgraded aircraft systems that will improve supportability and increase readiness. Key AHE program objectives include improved battle space target detection and situational awareness, support of Theater Air and Missile Defense (TAMD) operations, and improved Operational Availability. The AHE mission will be to provide advance warning of approaching enemy surface units, cruise missiles and aircraft, to vector interceptors or strike aircraft to attack, and to provide area surveillance, intercept, communications relay, search and rescue and strike and air traffic control. The AHE is intended to meet airborne early warning surveillance, battle management and TAMD needs as the Navy develops its Sea Power 21 concepts in support of Joint Vision 2020.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Airborne Command & Control, Battle Space Management.
Contractor: Northrop Grumman Aerospace Corp.
Date Deployed: January 1964.
Unit Cost: $80 million.
Propulsion: Two Allison T-56-A427 turboprop engines; (5,100 shaft horsepower each).
Length: 57 feet 6 inches (17.5 meters).
Height: 18 feet 3 inches (5.6 meters).
Wingspan: 80 feet 7 inches (28 meters).
Weight: Max. gross, take-off: 53,000 lbs (23,850 kg) 40,200 lbs basic (18,090 kg).
Airspeed: 300+ knots (345 miles, 552 km. per hour).
Ceiling: 30,000 feet (9,100 meters).
Crew: Five.

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E-3 Sentry (AWACS)

Editor — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0000

Introduction
The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications needed by commanders of U.S., NATO and other allied air defense forces.

Main Features
The E-3 Sentry is a modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome. The dome is 30 feet (9.1 meters) in diameter, six feet (1.8 meters) thick, and is held 11 feet (3.33 meters) above the fuselage by two struts. It contains a radar subsystem that permits surveillance from the Earth's surface up into the stratosphere, over land or water. The radar has a range of more than 250 miles (375.5 kilometers) for low-flying targets and farther for aerospace vehicles flying at medium to high altitudes. The radar combined with an identification friend or foe subsystem can look down to detect, identify and track enemy and friendly low-flying aircraft by eliminating ground clutter returns that confuse other radar systems.

Other major subsystems in the E-3 are navigation, communications and computers (data processing). Consoles display computer-processed data in graphic and tabular format on video screens. Console operators perform surveillance, identification, weapons control, battle management and communications functions.

The radar and computer subsystems on the E-3 Sentry can gather and present broad and detailed battlefield information. Data is collected as events occur. This includes position and tracking information on enemy aircraft and ships, and location and status of friendly aircraft and naval vessels. The information can be sent to major command and control centers in rear areas or aboard ships. In time of crisis, this data can be forwarded to the president and secretary of defense in the United States. It is a jam-resistant system that has performed missions while experiencing heavy electronic countermeasures.

In support of air-to-ground operations, the E-3 Sentry can provide direct information needed for interdiction, reconnaissance, airlift and close-air support for friendly ground forces. It can also provide information for commanders of air operations to gain and maintain control of the air battle.

As an air defense system, E-3s can detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far from the boundaries of the United States or NATO countries. It can direct fighter-interceptor aircraft to these enemy targets. Experience has proven that the E-3 Sentry can respond quickly and effectively to a crisis and support worldwide military deployment operations.

With its mobility as an airborne warning and control system, the E-3 Sentry has a greater chance of surviving in warfare than a fixed, ground-based radar system. Among other things, the flight path can quickly be changed according to mission and survival requirements. The E-3 can fly a mission profile for more than 8 hours without refueling. Its range and on-station time can be increased through inflight refueling and the use of an on-board crew rest area.

History and Background
Engineering, test and evaluation began on the first E-3 Sentry in October 1975. In March 1977 the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing (now 552nd Air Control Wing, TinkerAir Force Base, Okla.), received the first E-3s.

Air Combat Command has 28 E-3s at Tinker. Pacific Air Forces has four E-3 Sentries assigned to the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron (AACS), Kadena AB, Japan and the 962nd AACS, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. There is also one test aircraft at the Boeing Aircraft Company.

NATO has acquired 17 E-3A's and support equipment. The first E-3 was delivered to NATO in January 1982. The United Kingdom has seven E-3s, France has four, and Saudi Arabia hasfive. Japan has four AWACS housed on the Boeing 767 airframe.

As proven in operations Desert Storm, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the E-3 Sentry is the premier air battle command and control aircraft in the world. AWACS aircraft and crews were instrumental to the successful completion of operations Northern and Southern Watch, and are still engaged in operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom. They provide radar surveillance and control in addition to providing senior leadership with time-critical information on the actions of enemy forces.

The data collection capability of the E-3 radar and computer subsystems allowed an entire air war to be recorded for the first time in the history of aerial warfare.

In March 1996, the Air Force activated the 513th Air Control Group, an AWACS Reserve Associate Program unit, which performs duties on active-duty aircraft.

During the spring of 1999, the first AWACS aircraft went through the Radar System Improvement Program. RSIP is a joint U.S./NATO development program that involved a major hardward and software intensive modification to the existing radar system. Installation of RSIP enhanced the operational capability of the E-3 radar electronic counter-measures, and improved the system's reliability, maintainability and availability.

E-3 Sentry - General Technical Characteristics

Primary Function: Airborne surveillance, command, control and communications

Builder: Boeing Aerospace Co.

Power Plant: Four Pratt and Whitney TF33-PW-100A turbofan engines

Thrust: 21,000 pounds (9,450 kilograms) each engine

Length: 145 feet, 8 inches (44 meters)
Wingspan: 130 feet, 10 inches (39.7 meters)

Height: 41 feet, 4 inches (12.5 meters)

Rotodome: 30 feet in diameter (9.1 meters), 6 feet thick (1.8 meters), mounted 11 feet (3.33 meters) above fuselage

Speed: Optimum cruise 360 mph (Mach 0.48)

Ceiling: Above 29,000 feet (8,788 meters)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 347,000 pounds (156,150 kilograms)

Endurance: More than 8 hours (unrefueled)
Unit Cost: $270 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)

Crew: Flight crew of four plus mission crew of 13-19 specialists (mission crew size varies according to mission)

Date Deployed: March 1977
Inventory: Active force, 33 (1 test); Reserve, 0; Guard, 0

Point of Contact
Air Combat Command, Public Affairs Office; 115 Thompson St, Ste 211; Langley AFB, VA 23665-1987; DSN 574-5014 or (757) 764-5014; e-mail: acc.pai@langley.af.mil

E-3 Sentry (AWACS) is a post from: DefenceTalk | Defense & Military News - Forums - Pictures - Weapons

RQ-4 Global Hawk

Editor — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0000

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the US Air Force as a surveillance aircraft. In role and design, it is somewhat similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950's spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to both provide a broad overview and systematically target surveillance shortfalls.

The Global Hawk air vehicle is to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms—and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. Potential missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide peace, crisis, and wartime operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft will allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities.

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The "R" is the Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance; "Q" means unmanned aircraft system. The "4" refers to it being the fourth of a series of purpose-built unmanned reconnaissance aircraft systems. "A" or "B" refers to these being the first and second revisions, respectively. See also RQ-1 Predator, RQ-2 Pioneer, RQ-3 Dark Star, RQ-5 Hunter, RQ-6 Outrider, and RQ-7 Shadow.

The Global Hawk is the first UAV to be certified by the FAA to file its own flight plans and use civilian air corridors in the United States with no advance notice. This potentially paves the way for a revolution in unmanned flight, including that of unmanned civil passenger airliners.

Integrated system

The Global Hawk UAV system comprises an air vehicle segment consisting of air vehicles with sensor payloads, avionics, and data links; a ground segment consisting of a Launch and Recovery Element (LRE), and a Mission Control Element (MCE) with embedded ground communications equipment; a support element; and trained personnel.

The Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) consists of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electro-optical (EO), and infrared (IR) sensors. Either the EO or the IR sensors can operate simultaneously with the SAR. Each of the sensors provides wide area search imagery and a high-resolution spot mode. The SAR has a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) mode, which can provide a text message providing the moving target's position and velocity. Both SAR and EO/IR imagery are processed onboard the aircraft and transmitted to the MCE as individual frames. The MCE can mosaic these frames into images prior to further dissemination.

Navigation is via inertial navigation with integrated Global Positioning System updates. Global Hawk is intended to operate autonomously and "untethered" using a satellite data link (either Ku or UHF) for sending sensor data from the aircraft to the MCE. The common data link can also be used for direct down link of imagery when the UAV is operating within line-of-sight of users with compatible ground stations.

The ground segment consists of an MCE for mission planning, command and control, and image processing and dissemination; an LRE for controlling launch and recovery; and associated ground support equipment. (The LRE provides precision differential global positioning system corrections for navigational accuracy during takeoff and landings, while precision coded GPS supplemented with an inertial navigation system is used during mission execution.) By having separable elements in the ground segment, the MCE and the LRE can operate in geographically separate locations, and the MCE can be deployed with the supported command's primary exploitation site. Both ground segments are contained in military shelters with external antennas for line-of-sight and satellite communications with the air vehicles.

Variants

The Global Hawk is available in two major variants, the RQ-4A, which is the original variant, and the RQ-4B, which is somewhat larger, and has a 50% greater payload capacity. The U.S. Air Force has begun focusing on this newer version. Scaled Composites and Northrop Grumman are also offering a 50% proportional shrink of the RQ-4A, currently known as the Model 396, as part of the USAF Hunter-Killer program.

Other operators

As of February 2004, Australia has committed to 5-6 Global Hawk airframes for maritime and land surveillance, to replace their Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion patrol aircraft and General Dynamics RF-111C Aardvark reconnaissance aircraft, with deliveries in 2004-2005. Joint USAF/RAAF exercises in 2001 demonstrated the utility of the Global Hawk in Australian waters. In addition, Australia increased their requirements from merely a maritime role to a land surveillance role after observing American usage in 2003.

Germany is strongly considering a variant of the RQ-4B (dubbed "Euro Hawk") equipped with an EADS SIGINT package to fulfill their desire to replace their aging Dassault-Breguet Dassault_Atlantic electronic surveillance aircraft. Canada is also a potential customer.

The U.S. Navy has ordered two examples to be used to evaluate maritime surveillance capabilities. The first RQ-4A will be delivered around October 6, 2004, and the second one will be delivered several months later. The initial example will be tested in a naval configuration at Edwards Air Force Base for several months, and then will be flown to NAS Patuxent River for a future demonstration.[1]

In operation

Global Hawk prototypes have been used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and in Operation Enduring Freedom. While their data-collection capabilities have been praised, the aircraft did suffer a high number of accidents, with two of the aircraft, more than one quarter of the aircraft used in the conflicts, being lost (implying that there were seven Global Hawks used in this program). According to Australian press reports, the crashes were due to "technical failures or poor maintenance", with a failure rate per hour flown over 100 times higher than the F-16 fighters flown in the same conflicts. The manufacturers stated that it was unfair to compare the failure rates of a mature design to that of a prototype plane, and pointed to a lack of trained maintenance staff and spare parts. There is also something to be said for the fact that no pilot was placed at risk.

The reports also state that the cost of Australia's purchase of the planes has increased at least fivefold (from 150 million AUD to between 750 and 1000 million AUD) over initial estimates, though no explanation was given for the extra cost and the plans may involve the purchase of extra aircraft.

On April 24, 2001 a Global Hawk flew non-stop from Edwards Air Force Base in the US to RAAF Base Edinburgh in Australia, making history by being the first pilotless aircraft to cross the Pacific Ocean. The flight took 22 hours.

General characteristics

Contractor: Northrop Grumman, with EADS participation in European models.
Landing Type: runway
Launch Type: runway

Ceiling: 19.8 kilometers
Endurance: 24 to 36 hours
Length:

RQ-4A: 13.4 meters RQ-4B: 14.5 meters

Weight:

RQ-4A: 11,600 kilograms

Wingspan:

RQ-4A: 35.4 meters RQ-4B: 39.9 meters

Velocity: 250 kilometers per hour (cruise); 636 kilometers per hour

External links

Global Hawk (Tier II+ HAE UAV) at the FAS

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