DTN News - UKRAINE CRISIS: NATO To Fly AWACS Planes Over Poland, Romania To Monitor Ukraine Crisis

DTN News - UKRAINE CRISIS: NATO To Fly AWACS Planes Over Poland, Romania To Monitor Ukraine Crisis

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 11, 2014: NATO will start reconnaissance flights over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in neighboring Ukraine where Russian forces have taken control of Crimea, the alliance said on Monday.

Ukraine is not a NATO member but Russia's intervention in Crimea has alarmed neighboring countries, including alliance members that used to be dominated by the Soviet Union.

Acting on a recommendation from the alliance's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, NATO ambassadors gave the go-ahead to the AWACS flights, a NATO spokesman said.

AWACS (airborne early warning and control) planes will fly from their home airbases in Geilenkirchen, Germany, and Waddington in Britain, the spokesman said.

"These flights will enhance the alliance's situational awareness and all will take place solely over alliance territory," he said.

The flights will start soon and go on for as long as required, he added.

The Western military alliance announced a review of its cooperation with Moscow last week after Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, following weeks of upheaval in Ukraine which culminated in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich.

NATO allies met last Tuesday after Poland invoked a rule allowing any ally to consult with the others if it feels its security is under threat.

Soon after that meeting, U.S. officials said the Pentagon would more than double the number of U.S. fighter jets on a NATO air patrol mission in the Baltics and do more training with Poland's air force in an attempt to reassure allies.

The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications needed by commanders of U.S. and NATO air defense forces. As proven in Desert Storm, it is the premier air battle command and control aircraft in the world today.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Subcontractor Air France Industries Begins Major Upgrade of French AWACS Fleet

DTN News - BOEING NEWS: Boeing Subcontractor Air France Industries Begins Major Upgrade of French AWACS Fleet
*$354M upgrade will increase Airborne Warning and Control System’s mission capability, reduce life-cycle costs

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 19, 2013: Boeing [NYSE: BA] subcontractor, Air France Industries (AFI), has begun upgrading the electrical, mechanical and structural systems and mission hardware of the first of four French E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The $354M Mid Life Upgrade (MLU) – the largest ever for French AWACS – will provide the fleet a fuller picture of the battle space and more actionable information while reducing aircrew workload.

Boeing is providing on-site engineering and quality assurance support, software and hardware.

Work on the first E-3F AWACS aircraft at AFI’s facility near Paris is scheduled to be completed in 2014 with the rest of the fleet completed by 2016.

 "Air France Industries is uniquely positioned to help us provide this capability because of its substantial technical and manufacturing capabilities and over 20 years of experience with the E-3F fleet," said Steve Swanz, French AWACS program manager for Boeing. "We are also benefitting from the strong cooperation of our U.S. and French government customers."

The MLU upgrade, based on the U.S. AWACS Block 40/45 system, dramatically increases mission execution capability, reliability and effectiveness; and reduces life-cycle costs.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $33 billion business with 59,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

Contact:        

Dave Sloan                                                 
Boeing Defense, Space & Security        
+1 253-657-8008    
david.a.sloan@boeing.com

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: NORAD, Russia To Conduct First-Ever Joint Air Defense Drills

DTN News: NORAD, Russia To Conduct First-Ever Joint Air Defense Drills

Source: DTN News / RIA Novosti

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, U.S. - August 10, 2010: The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Russian Air Force will hold their first-ever joint air defense exercise on August 8-11, NORAD said. The exercise, dubbed VIGILANT EAGLE, involves Russian, Canadian and U.S. Air Force personnel operating from command centers at the Elmendorf airbase in Alaska, and in Khabarovsk, Russia. "Airborne warning and control aircraft [AWACS E-3B and A-50] from Russia and the United States will be involved along with fighter-interceptor aircraft and refueling aircraft from both countries," NORAD said in a statement on Tuesday. The exercise scenario, put together by NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, will create a situation that requires both the Russian Air Force and NORAD to launch or divert fighter aircraft to investigate and follow a U.S. flagged commercial air carrier on an international flight that has been taken over by terrorists. The exercise will be carried out under a cooperative military agreement between Russia and the United States, which tasks NORAD, the bi-national U.S. and Canadian command, and the Russian Air Force to conduct a live-fly exercise for up to five days.

Related News *India to purchase two more AWACS planes from Russia *Russia modernizes fleet of A-50M AWACS planes

DTN News: Boeing Awarded Contract For Major Upgrade To French AWACS Fleet

DTN News: Boeing Awarded Contract For Major Upgrade To French AWACS Fleet *Source: DTN News / Boeing (NSI News Source Info) - February 3, 2010: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has been awarded a $324 million Foreign Military Sales contract from the Electronics Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., to upgrade France's fleet of four E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, as well as the fleet's ground system. The E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft is based on a militarized version of the Boeing 707-320B. It remains the world’s most widely used large-jet AWACS platform, in service with the USAF, Britain, France, NATO, and Saudi Arabia. Over the years, the world’s E-3 fleet has required improvements to keep its radars and electronics current with advances in technology. France received its 4 E-3F aircraft between 1991-1992, and undertook its own RSIP improvement program from 2002-2006. "This upgrade -- the largest ever for French AWACS -- will provide the fleet with more actionable information and better situational awareness," said Steve Swanz, French AWACS program manager for Boeing. "New mission computers also will reduce the mission operator's workload, allowing more time to be spent managing the battlespace." The French AWACS Mid-Life Upgrade is based on the U.S. AWACS Block 40/45 system, which dramatically enhances the potential for network-enabled operations; increases mission execution capability, reliability and effectiveness; and reduces life-cycle costs. The upgrade will include: *A primary AWACS display, which increases situational awareness through its intuitive interface and detailed map database *Upgraded Identification Friend or Foe Interrogation, including Mode S and Mode 5 capability *An increase in the number of mission consoles aboard each aircraft, from 10 to 14 *Modern mission computing processing, which enables improved AWACS mission performance through the use of advanced battle management tools such as Automatic Air Tasking Orders and *Airspace Coordination Order updates, resource and sensor management, and automated decision aids *Improved combat identification capabilities from integrated sensor and off-board datalinks *The Multi-Source Integration process, which automatically integrates data from on- and off-board sources such as radar, Electronic Support Measures and Link 16, to provide significantly improved tracking capabilities *Digital radio control and management through the new mission computing subsystem *An open system architecture that enables rapid software upgrades and requires less hardware. Air France Industries will begin installing the enhancements at its Le Bourget Airport facility near Paris in 2012. The entire fleet is scheduled to complete this upgrade in the third quarter of 2015. A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

DTN News: NATO May Deploy Awacs Plane To Fight Pirates, Di Paola Says

DTN News: NATO May Deploy Awacs Plane To Fight Pirates, Di Paola Says *Source: DTN News / Int'l News By James G. Neuger & James G. Neuger in Brussels (NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS, Belgium - December 16, 2009: NATO may deploy an Awacs radar plane to hunt pirates in the seas off Somalia as attacks on merchant ships spread further into the Indian Ocean, the head of the alliance’s military committee said. The E-3 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) is built by Boeing Defense & Space Group. The role of the E-3 is to carry out airborne surveillance, and command, control and communications (C3) functions for both tactical and air defence forces. Commanders are seeking to back up a five-ship counterpiracy task force with one of the airborne warning and control system surveillance planes, possibly sharing it with the allied International Security Assistance Force fighting in Afghanistan. “It would not be inconceivable, for example, having a dual use of Awacs maybe located somewhere in the region and being able to perform missions for ISAF and missions for counterpiracy,” Italian Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, the committee chairman, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Brussels today. Stalked by warships from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union and countries including Russia and China, pirates operating from safe havens in Somalia are ranging as far as 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) out to sea to prey on merchant vessels. Pirates struck 147 times off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden during the first nine months of 2009, up from 63 attacks in the year-earlier period, the International Maritime Bureau said. A tenth of the world’s trade passes through that sea corridor. Somalia’s lack of an effective government after almost two decades of civil war has turned it into a base for gangs that seize commercial ships. Pirates often hold them for ransom, as when they extorted $2.8 million for the release of the 24 Ukrainian crew members of a British-owned bulk carrier last week after a seven-month ordeal. NATO Task Force Warships from the U.S., Italy, Portugal and Canada make up the current NATO task force, cobbled together from a group that is normally used for routine exercises and port visits. Known as “eyes in the sky,” the Awacs are modified Boeing 707s topped with a rotating dome housing radar equipment. NATO’s 17-plane Awacs fleet, managed by crews from 15 countries, is based in Geilenkirchen, Germany. Use of the Awacs in a conflict zone requires unanimous approval by the 28 NATO allies. It took months for NATO last year to approve the deployment of Awacs over Afghanistan to monitor the increasingly crowded airspace there. The Awacs request for the piracy mission “has just come in so I would feel the discussion will start the beginning of next year,” said Di Paola, whose committee consists of high- ranking officers from all NATO countries. ‘Not for Free’ “Deploying an Awacs costs money, it’s not for free,” Di Paola, 65, said. “There will be some serious discussion up to which point this can be done.” Di Paola rebutted concerns that there is a lack of coordination between the NATO and EU anti-piracy task forces and solo ships from other countries. The EU’s six-frigate force may start patrolling further into the Indian Ocean as pirate activity widens, U.K. Rear Admiral Peter Hudson, commander of the EU mission, said in an interview last week. NATO ships have chased sea bandits as far as the approaches to the Seychelles islands, and the various fleets have working arrangements to divide up their zone of coverage depending on where the pirates are, Di Paola said. “There is a lot of maritime space over there,” Di Paola said. “The pirates are responding in an intelligent way, moving wherever they think there’s a lack of presence. If NATO forces for a certain period are more concentrated on the Gulf of Aden, this allows the European Union to move away.”

DTN News: Boeing Awarded Production Contract For US Air Force AWACS Block 40/45 Upgrade

DTN News: Boeing Awarded Production Contract For US Air Force AWACS Block 40/45 Upgrade

*Source: DTN News / Boeing Company

(NSI News Source Info) SEATTLE, USA - July 24, 2009: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has received a $44 million Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract for the Block 40/45 upgrade of the U.S. Air Force Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet. The contract, awarded by the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., marks the official beginning of the Block 40/45 production phase. The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American military airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, and NATO air defense forces. Production ended in 1992 after 68 had been built. Boeing will provide shipset hardware, spare parts, ground systems installation, and delivery and logistic support for the first aircraft to undergo the upgrade. Air Force personnel will install the hardware at the Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. Installation is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2011. The remaining five LRIP aircraft will be covered in a follow-on contract. "Block 40/45 brings the AWACS mission system into the 21st century and enables rapid future upgrades, allowing the AWACS fleet to remain a key asset in air battle management for many years to come," said Paula Pielak, Boeing AWACS 40/45 and Advanced Projects program manager. "We look forward to putting this tremendous capability into production and delivering it to the warfighter." Boeing met all key performance parameters for the upgraded Block 40/45 system during a flight test acceptance program, proving the system's reliability and stability. The program was completed in July 2008. The Block 40/45 upgrade, which is the largest in the history of the AWACS program, dramatically enhances the system’s potential for using network-enabled operations and increases AWACS mission execution capability, effectiveness and reliability while lowering life-cycle costs through a number of improved features, including: the primary AWACS display, which increases situational awareness through its intuitive mission displays and detailed map database higher processing power, which enables better operation of the fleet's advanced battle management tools, such as Automatic Air Tasking Orders and Airspace Coordination Order updates the capability to determine the most effective airborne weapon to pair against an identified target the Multi-Source Integration process (MSI), which automatically integrates data from on-and off-board sources, such as radar and Identification Friend or Foe, Electronic Support Measures and Link 16. The open system and lean architecture of the MSI enables rapid software upgrades and requires less hardware. A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

DTN News: Germany Paves Way For Afghan AWACS Deployment

DTN News: Germany Paves Way For Afghan AWACS Deployment

*Sources: DTN News / NATO

(NSI News Source Info) BERLIN, Germany - June 23, 2009: German politicians are backing deployment of the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) for missions over Afghanistan. NATO announced its decision to deploy the aircraft during a meeting in Brussels on June 12 after France threatened to block the move on cost grounds. E-3A AWACS aircraft from the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (NAEW&C Force) provided airspace security and surveillance support for the President of the USA during a visit in Germany on 4 and 5 June 2009. The use of E-3A aircraft for airspace surveillance and control has become an important part of national and international efforts to ensure the safety and security of political summits and other strategic world leadership events. Past examples of other international events supported by the E-3A Component include: the 2008 NATO Summit in Romania, the 2007 EU-Africa Summit in Portugal, the 2006 World Cup football competition in Germany, the 2005 G8 economic Summit in the United Kingdom and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece. The E-3A aircraft, a modified Boeing 707, is equipped with radar capable of detecting air traffic over large distances and at low altitudes. One E-3A operating at 30,000 feet generates an air picture of aircraft movements from high to low altitude that can detect targets within 400 km or 215 nautical miles. The NAEW&C Force is composed of two components: the NATO flagged E-3A Component at Geilenkirchen, Germany which is comprised of 17 aircraft and multinational crews from 14 NATO nations, and the E3-D Component at Waddington whose seven aircraft and crews are British. The crew of each NATO E-3A AWACS can include up to one-third German personnel, and deployment of the aircraft in support of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission has been a subject of political debate in Germany over the past months. A decision in favor of deployment was made by the Federal Cabinet on June 17. The German Bundestag will now debate the issue July 3, in its final meeting before summer recess. The German government has agreed in principle to send an additional 300 personnel to the Afghan theater, primarily to support the three or four AWACS aircraft that NATO plans to deploy. The mission is due to last until Dec. 13. NATO announced its intention to send AWACS to Afghanistan as early as March 2008. However, the proposal faced opposition from German politicians keen to avoid direct support of combat operations by German troops. To date, German military participation in Afghanistan has focused on support roles, including aerial reconnaissance and logistics, while ground troops have been concentrated in less-dangerous regions. Germany's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has stressed the unarmed nature of the AWACS mission and has stated that the aircraft cannot be used to identify ground targets and prosecute air strikes. According to the federal government, the aircraft's main mission will be management of air assets, allowing "a better coordination of civilian and military air traffic, for the protection of the troops deployed there and the Afghan civilian population." However, unlike the German Air Force Tornado jets operating in support of the Afghan mission, AWACS offers a real-time imagery capability, and therefore could theoretically direct combat operations. Another potential hurdle is the fact that the German parliament announced last October that German participation in ISAF had reached its upper limit, with 4,500 personnel deployed. The additional 300 German servicemen required for the AWACS mission will be on top of this figure. The political ramifications of the AWACS mission have history in Germany. In May 2008, the issue of German participation in NATO AWACS flights during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 was ruled illegal by the constitutional court. These missions had been flown to secure Turkish airspace during the U.S.-led invasion, although military action in Iraq was opposed by the then German government. The court ruled that German aircrew had been involved in military operations without parliamentary consultation. Based at Geilenkirchen, Germany, the multinational NATO AWACS component operates 17 E-3As and three Boeing 707 trainer/transport aircraft. The force includes about 3,100 personnel. For the upcoming ISAF mission, the AWACS aircraft are likely to be based in Konya, Turkey.

Coming Sooner Than You Might Think: Humanoid-Type Robotic Armies, $1000 Unmanned Vehicles Capable Of Mass Destruction

Coming Sooner Than You Might Think: Humanoid-Type Robotic Armies, $1000 Unmanned Vehicles Capable Of Mass Destruction

By Joe Rothstein Editor, EINNEWS.COM

(NSI News Source Info) February 15, 2009: One of EINNEWS' most popular on-line publications is Militaryindustrytoday.com, a favorite destination for thousands of people and companies worldwide monitoring news of military activities, weapons, defense contracts and the like.

As I scan this site daily, I've been struck by the increasing number of stories featuring unmanned aerial vehicles, robots that diffuse roadside bombs, and other military applications that more and more mirror science fiction.

Now, an important and influential book, Wired for War, puts all of this together and explains not only what we see in today's headlines, but where it's all leading. It's nothing short of a civilization game changer. And it's happening quickly. Some highlights:

Look at this amazing Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. It is currently being developed by the Seiko Epson Corp and was revealed at a Japanese trade show recently. It is being billed as 'the world's lightest and smallest UAV helicopter, the Micro Flying Robot.' This Micro helicopter UAV fits in the palm of your hand and is designed to carry a micro camera. The applications for such a device are many but include: 'The manufacturer built the device so that it could fly into dangerous areas or areas hit by disasters in place of human beings and see what the situation is. Another example would be for the micro-UAV to fly into a building flattened by an earthquake and see if anyone was trapped inside.' The Micro UAV weighs just 0.35 ounces and is only 2.8 inches high.

Most robotic scientists and U.S. military leaders agree that somewhere between 2020 and 2025 it will be possible for nations to field humanoid-type robotic armies. That's right, robotic armies, not that much different in concept and practice from the ones that battle it out in Star Wars. We're talking 10 to 15 years from now. About the time your young children are ready for college.

Even today, more than 12,000 robots are at work in Iraq and Afghanistan defusing roadside bombs, serving as bloodless medics and performing other dangerous tasks. More than 5,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are in the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan---- from model airplane size that can be launched by an individual on the ground to the Global Hawk, a full sized aircraft that serves as an unmanned AWACs-type eyes-in-the-skies battle area monitorMany of these UAVs are actually “flown” by pilots sitting in Nevada and elsewhere. A whole new class of pilots are spending their days flying missions, finding enemy targets and launching missiles and bombs, and then leaving their cubicles located thousand of miles away from the battlefield to have dinner with their families or take their kids to Little League practice.

The Navy is in the robotic game as well. It's just launched a destroyer designed to be a mothership to all types of robotic devices: unmanned submarines, “smart” torpedoes, unmanned helicopters, and ship-launched protections that can intercept threatening incoming missiles.

This is not fantasy, folks. This is real. And according to Peter Singer, the author of Wired for War, scientists believe that what's being deployed today represents the model T versions of what's to come. Some estimate that in 25 years robots will be a billion times smarter and more powerful than they are today.All of this raises some breathtakingly important questions. Such as:

What is “warfare” when the fighters are detached by thousands of miles from the place of the fighting?Since robotics are so inexpensive to develop and deploy (43 nations currently have active robotics development programs) what is the impact on the current U.S. military behemoth? Don't robotics essentially neutralize the financial and industrial advantage the U.S. has in warfare, the way the development of guns neutralized the advantage of size and strength in hand-to-hand combat?

(Scary note: An unmanned drone can be built for as little as $1000 and is a very efficient way to deliver weapons of mass destruction).

How does any nation protect itself from attack by unmanned vehicles that might be as small as an insect?

What is a “warrior,” if the most valuable of fighting skills resemble video game-type dexterity and quickness?

Who's responsible for war crimes when they are committed by robots?

Just so you know that all of this is not sci-fi channel edge of reality stuff, I should tell you that Dr. Peter Singer, the book's author, is director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and one of the world's leading experts on changes in 21st century warfare.

I was at Brookings the day Dr. Singer introduced his book. Sharing the platform with him was Marine General James Mattis, NATO's supreme allied commander for transformation. General Mattis is the buzz-cut picture of the hardened combat warrior. He commanded the 1st Marine Division during the initial invasion of Iraq. A just-the-facts type of guy, General Mattis was there to support Dr. Singer's research and conclusions.

In his book, Dr. Singer has picked up the strands of known information from the military, the laboratories, the private companies currently producing robotics, and military people in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the distant cubicles where the wars are also being fought. He's blended all of this into a highly readable, non-technical, thoroughly convincing picture of today's realities---along with a UAV-like over the horizon image of what's ahead for the future of warfare.

What emerges is such a game changer for everything we now consider war, government, and civilization itself that my one column doesn't do it justice. That's why I'll have more to say about this in future columns.

U.S. Air Force's 21st Century AWACS

U.S. Air F0rce's 21st Century AWACS (NSI News Source Info) September 15, 2008: The U.S. Air Force has completed testing its latest E-3 AWACS (Air Warning And Control System) upgrades. This Block 40/45 version consists largely of replacing the 1980s era computers and electronics with modern gear. This also makes it possible to more quickly upgrade hardware and software (often using off-the-shelf commercial stuff) in the future. Most visibly, the new software eliminates most of the hundreds of switches and knobs that surrounded the monitors and keyboards of the old model. Not only are many operations automated, but using many functions are now point-and-click on a screen, not a separate switch. The AWACS proved to be a key to victory in the 1991, 2001 and 2003 campaigns. The key to doing this was knowing where all friendly aircraft were at all times. Directing a lot of warplanes over enemy territory has long been a problem. It was elegantly solved with the development of airborne control aircraft like the E-3. But it took half a century to perfect this approach. The problem was first noted during World War II, when operations involving over a thousand aircraft in the air at once demonstrated how out of hand things could get. But no technical solution was available. That is, you could not put a radar in an aircraft powerful enough to get the big picture, the entire picture. However the U.S. Navy did plan to use radar equipped TBF Avengers to control the fighter screen protecting the fleet from Japanese suicide bombing attacks during the planned 1945 invasion of Japan. But the invasion never came off and the Navy pursued the radar equipped control aircraft idea at a more leisurely pace after the war. The navy E-1 airborne early warning aircraft first flew in 1956 and entered service in 1960. While mainly used to extend the radar coverage of a naval task force, this type of aircraft also had a vital role in controlling large numbers of friendly warplanes in air battles. The U.S. Air Force also kept working on the problem. By 1953, the Air Force was able to send propeller driven transports (EC 121 Lockheed Constellations), equipped with powerful radar and radio equipment, off the coasts of North America to watch for Russian bombers. Beginning in 1965, the first of thirty EC 121s was sent to Vietnam, where they controlled combat operations in the northern part of the country. As useful as these aircraft were, it was obvious that, with a little more technology, one could really control air combat operations. The ultimate solution came in the form of a four engine jet transport converted to a flying radar station and control tower. This was the E-3 AWACS, whose development began in the late 1960s, and the first prototypes were flying in the late 1970s. The E-3 went into regular use in 1982. Flying far enough inside friendly territory to avoid enemy anti aircraft missiles, the AWACS radar has a radar range of between 200 km (for small aircraft or cruise missiles flying close to the ground) to 600 km (for large aircraft flying at high altitude). The AWACS tracks several hundred friendly and enemy aircraft at once. The AWACS acts as an airborne command center for aircraft. Friendly planes are kept out of each others way (there was not a single friendly air to air collusion during the 1991 Gulf war, or in any subsequent operations using the E-3.) Enemy aircraft are spotted, identified and friendly interceptors assigned to take care of the hostile planes. One or more AWACS is used to control an air operation and each can stay up eleven hours at a time, or up to 22 hours with refueling and extra crew on board to man the equipment. Its first wartime workout, during the 1991 Gulf war, was a spectacular success, often in more ways than anticipated. For example, the use of over a hundred tankers to refuel combat aircraft would not have been possible without the AWACS being there to efficiently link tankers and aircraft needing fuel. Forming up the Wild Weasels, and coordinating their use with the bombers they escorted, was much easier using an AWACS. Just keeping track of who was who and going where would not have been possible without the AWACS.