Inside The Air Force’s Flying Radar Fleet

From the creator

As the recent Chinese spy balloon encounter showed, keeping the skies safe is a tough job. For decades the U.S. Air Force has relied on the E-3 Sentry, and the most recent version, the E-3G, has been upgraded with more modern electronics and software to keep up with new threats. 'The best way to describe it is kind of like the quarterback in the sky," said Air Force Col. Keven Coyle, commander of the 552nd Air Control Wing. "It's the job of the E-3 to surveil, to layout the enemies arrayed, and then allow our friendly forces to be able to be set up in a way that allows them to fight with the greatest capacity." The Air Force is hoping that the E-7 Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft built by Boeing can take over down the line if the Air Force needs to retire some of the older Sentry aircraft over the coming years. In the most recent budget, Congress appropriated an additional $200 million for the Air Force to develop a prototype to meet that need. "Congress has approved the money for the first two prototypes, which is a very good thing for the Air Force," said Lt. Col. Peter "Beast" Bastien, Air Combat Command directorate of plans, programs and requirements, airborne weapons systems and futures chief. "On the other hand, there's a physical limitation on how fast you can turn a roll of aluminum into an E-7." The age of the E-3s has made replacement parts more difficult to procure, and the mechanical breakdowns inherent in such an old aircraft are impacting mission

Published 2023-02-10 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Availability and playback restrictions are controlled by the original channel.