This is a list of airborne early warning aircraft. An AEW aircraft is an airborne radar system generally used to detect incoming aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, and other projectiles and provide guidance to fighter and attack aircraft strikes.
| Type | Origin | Status | Class | Entered service in | Quantity Ordered | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-71 | USSR | Production | Jet | 1985 | 3 | 2 engines |
| AgustaWestland Model 112/EH-101A | Italy | Production | Rotorcraft | 2009 | 4 | 3 engines |
| AgustaWestland Merlin Crowsnest | UK | Production | Rotorcraft | 2021 | 1+ (Growing) | ? |
| Avro Shackleton AEW.2 | UK | Production | Propeller | 1972 | 12 | 4 engines |
| Beriev A-50 | USSR | Production | Jet | 1978 | 40 ~ | 4 engines |
| Boeing 707 Phalcon/Condor | Israel | Production | Jet | 1993 | 2+ | 4 engines |
| Boeing 737 AEW&C | Australia | Production | Jet | 2004 | 14 | 2 engines |
| Boeing B-29 AEW | US | Production | Propeller | 1951 | 3 | 4 engines |
| Boeing EC-137D | US | Production | Jet | 1972 | 2 | 4 engines |
| Boeing E-3 Sentry | US | Production | Jet | 1975 | 68 | 4 engines |
| Boeing E-767 | Japan | Production | Jet | 1996 | 4 | 2 engines |
| Boeing PB-1W Flying Fortress | US | Production | Propeller | 1945 | 31 | 4 engines |
| Bombardier Global 6000 | Sweden | Ordered | Jet | 2018 | 8+ | 2 engines [1] |
| British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3 | UK | Project | Jet | 1980 | 11 | 4 engines |
| Britten-Norman Defender AEW | UK | Prototype | Propeller | 1988 | 2+ | 2 engines |
| Douglas Skyraider AEW variants | US | Production | Propeller | 1947 | 418 | 1 engine |
| EADS CASA C-295 AEW | Spain | Prototype | Propeller | 2011 | 1 | 2 engines |
| Embraer R-99A/E-99/EMB 145 AEW&C | Brazil | Production | Jet | 1999 | 15+ | 2 engines |
| Fairey Gannet AEW.3 | UK | Production | Propeller | 1958 | 44 | 1 double engine |
| Fairey Gannet AEW.7 | UK | Project | Propeller | ? | 0 | 1 engine |
| Goodyear ZP2N-1W/ZPG-2W/EZ-1B | US | Production | Aerostat | 1955 | 3 | ? |
| Goodyear ZPG-3W | US | Production | Aerostat | 1958 | 4 | ? |
| Grumman E-1 Tracer | US | Production | Propeller | 1956 | 88 | 2 engines |
| Grumman E-2 Hawkeye | US | Production | Propeller | 1960 | 276 | 2 engines |
| Grumman TBM-3W Avenger | US | Production | Propeller | 1944 | 40 | 1 engine |
| Gulfstream G550/IAI Eitam | Israel/US | Production | Jet | 2006 | 8 | 2 engines |
| Hawker Siddeley P.139B | UK | Project | Jet | 1966 | 0 | 2 engines |
| Kamov Ka-31 | USSR | Production | Rotorcraft | 1983 | 35+ | ? |
| KJ-1 AEWC | China | Prototype | Propeller | 1971 | 2 | 4 engines |
| KJ-200 'Y-8W Balanced Beam' | China | Production | Propeller | 2001 | 13 | 4 engines |
| KJ-2000 | China | Production | Jet | 2003 | 5 | 4 engines |
| KJ-3000 | China | Prototype | Jet | 2013 | 4 | 4 engines |
| Lockheed AMSS (S-3 derivative) | US | Project | Jet | ? | 0 | 2 engines |
| Netra Mk.1 on ERJ-145 by DRDO | India | Production | Jet | 2011 | 3 | 2 engines |
| Netra Mk.2 on A321 by DRDO | India | In development | Jet | 2028 | 6 | 2 engines |
| Lockheed WV-2/PO-2W/EC-121 Warning Star | US | Production | Propeller | 1949 | 232 | 4 engines |
| Lockheed EC-130V Hercules | US | ? | Propeller | 1991 | 1 | 4 engines |
| Lockheed P-3 Orion AEW&C | US | Production | Propeller | 1988 | 8 | 4 engines |
| Saab 340 AEW&C (S 100 B/D Argus) | Sweden | Production | Propeller | 1994 | 8 | 2 engines |
| Saab 2000 AEW&C | Sweden | Production | Propeller | 2008 | 5 | 2 engines |
| Shaanxi KJ-500 | China | Production | Propeller | 2013 | 12+ | 4 engines |
| Shaanxi Y-8W | China | Production | Propeller | ? | 4 | 4 engines |
| Shaanxi Y-8J AEW | China | Prototype | Propeller | 1998 | 4 | 4 engines |
| Shaanxi Y-8 AWACS | China | Production | Propeller | ? | 4 | 4 engines |
| Shaanxi ZDK-03 AEW&C | China | Production | Propeller | 2010 | 4 | 4 engines |
| Sikorsky SH-3H AEW | Spain | Production | Rotorcraft | ? | 3 | ? |
| Sikorsky HR2S-1W | US | Production | Rotorcraft | 1958 | 2 | ? |
| Tupolev Tu-126 | USSR | Production | Propeller | 1962 | 12 ~ | 4 engines |
| Vickers Wellington Ic "Air Controlled Interception" | UK | Production | Propeller | 1944 | 1 | 2 engines [2] |
| Westland Sea King AEW.2/AEW.5/ASaC7 | UK | Production | Rotorcraft | 1982 | 13 | ? |
| Xian JZY-01 | China | Prototype | Propeller | 2012 | 1 | 2 engines |
| Xian KJ-600 | China | In development | Propeller | ? | ? | 2 engines |
| Yakovlev Yak-44 | Russia | Project | Propeller | 1993 | 0 | 2 engines |
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS. Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control, and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force, NATO, French Air and Space Force, Royal Saudi Air Force and Chilean Air Force. The E-3 has a distinctive rotating radar dome (rotodome) above the fuselage. Production ended in 1992 after 68 aircraft had been built.
Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, may refer to:
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on support roles:
An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of the battlespace in aerial engagements by informing and directing friendly fighter and attack aircraft. AEW&C units are also used to carry out aerial surveillance over ground and maritime targets, and frequently perform battle management command and control (BMC2). When used at altitude, the radar system on AEW&C aircraft allows the operators to detect, track and prioritize targets and identify friendly aircraft from hostile ones in real-time and from much farther away than ground-based radars. Like ground-based radars, AEW&C systems can be detected and targeted by opposing forces, but due to aircraft mobility and extended sensor range, they are much less vulnerable to counter-attacks than ground systems.
Number 8 Squadron of the Royal Air Force last operated the Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 (AWACS) from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. As of 2020, the RAF AWACS fleet was made up of three Sentry AEW1s, down from seven originally ordered in the late 1980s. Pursuant to the 2021 defence review, the E-3D Sentry aircraft made its final flight in U.K. service in August 2021.
The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, also marketed as the Boeing 737 AEW&C, is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design. It has a fixed, active electronically scanned array radar antenna instead of a rotating one as with the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry. The E-7 was designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.
The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star is an American airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft operational in the 1950s in both the United States Navy (USN) and United States Air Force (USAF).
The Beriev A-50 is a Soviet-origin airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that is based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane. Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126 "Moss", the A-50 first flew in 1978. Its existence was revealed to the Western Bloc in 1978 by Adolf Tolkachev. It entered service in 1985, with about 40 produced by 1992.
The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported. Although the An-12 is no longer made in Ukraine, the Chinese Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced. An estimated 169 Y-8 aircraft had been built by 2010.
A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from criminal activities such as smuggling. By definition a radar picket must be some distance removed from the anticipated targets to be capable of providing early warning. Often several detached radar units would be placed in a ring to encircle a target to provide increased cover in all directions; another approach is to position units to form a barrier line.
The KJ-1 was a Chinese experimental airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, based on a Tupolev Tu-4 bomber aircraft. The project was started in 1969 under the code name "Project 926", but only one prototype was built before the project was put on hold indefinitely until it was finally cancelled in 1979.
The KJ-2000 is a Chinese second-generation airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, and is the first AEW&C system in service to the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It is built upon a modified Russian Ilyushin Il-76 airframe using domestically designed avionics and a fixed radome featuring three active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars each covering a 120-degree sector, unlike the rotating radome on the comparable E-3 Sentry serving the United States Air Force.
The Boeing E-767 is an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft that was designed in response to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's requirements. It is essentially the Boeing E-3 Sentry's surveillance radar and air control system installed on a Boeing 767-200.
The DRDO Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) is a project of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation to develop an airborne early warning and control system for the Indian Air Force. It is also referred to as NETRA Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS).
The Saab 340 AEW&C is a Swedish airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. A variant of the Saab 340 aircraft is designated S 100B Argus by the Swedish Air Force.
The EL/W-2085 is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) multi-band radar system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elta Electronics Industries of Israel. Its primary objective is to provide intelligence to maintain air superiority and conduct surveillance. The system is currently in-service with Israel, Italy, and Singapore.
The British Aerospace Nimrod AEW3 was a proposed airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft which was to provide airborne radar cover for the air defence of the United Kingdom by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The project was designed to use the existing Nimrod airframe, in use with the RAF as a maritime patrol aircraft, combined with a new radar system and avionics package developed by Marconi Avionics.
The Hawker Siddeley P.139B was a proposed airborne early warning aircraft intended to operate from aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. The P.139B formed part of the a major equipment procurement plan for the RN in the 1960s intended to give the service a force of new, modern carriers capable of operating air groups consisting of equally modern aircraft. However, cuts in defence spending by the British government in the mid-1960s meant that these proposals never came to fruition.
The AN/APS-20 was an airborne early warning, anti-submarine, maritime surveillance and weather radar developed in the United States in the 1940s. Entering service in 1945, it served for nearly half a century, finally being retired in 1991. Initially developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under Project Cadillac, the radar was developed to be carried by aircraft to extend the sensor range of ships by placing a radar at altitude. Although developed for carrier-borne operation, first being installed in the single-engined General Motors TBM-3W Avenger, it was also used in larger four-engined airframes, the last being a fleet of Avro Shackleton AEW.2 which were converted from maritime patrol aircraft. Similarly, although developed for detecting aircraft, it saw extensive service in anti-submarine and maritime patrol roles and was one of the first radars to be used in researching extreme weather like hurricanes by agencies like the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). As well as the United States, the radar was used by a large number of services in other countries, including the French Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Early versions of the radar could see a low-flying aircraft at 65 nautical miles and a ship at 200 nautical miles. This was improved, so that later versions had a range against aerial targets of 115 nautical miles.