Every year the NATO E-3A participates in several air shows across the world. The E-3A is always a major attraction because it is one of the few aircraft that is open to the public. The visitors are very curious to learn more about the E-3A, and below are some of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Q1. What is the NAEW&C Force?

A1. The NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&CF) was established in January 1980. Today the NAEW&C Force consists of two operational elements called Components: the multinational NATO E-3A Component in Geilenkirchen, Germany, operating 17 Boeing NATO E-3A AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft as well as three Trainer Cargo Aircraft (TCA), and the Royal Air Force (RAF) E 3D Component at Waddington in the UK, with seven Boeing E-3D AWACS aircraft manned and operated by RAF personnel exclusively. The E-3D Component declared its Initial Operating Capability on 1 July 1992, thus establishing the NAEW&C Mixed Force concept.

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Q2. How many nations participate in the NAEW&C programme?

A2. Sixteen nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States) participate in the NAEW&C programme, with 14 of them providing military personnel to the NATO E-3A Component in Geilenkirchen (the UK flies its own E-3 system and Luxembourg does not provide military personnel).

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Q3. Where does the E-3A operate from?

A3. The E-3As have been operating from the Main Operating Base (MOB) at Geilenkirchen, since February 1982. They also operate from four additional air bases, the so-called Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) located in Trapani, Italy, in Aktion, Greece, and in Konya, Turkey, plus a Forward Operating Location (FOL) in Oerland, Norway.

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Q4. What does the AWACS do?

A4. The NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) is a highly mobile surveillance and control platform designed to support and enhance a robust air defence system. The primary mission of the NATO AWACS fleet is to provide a multinational asset for immediately available support of Alliance objectives worldwide. The aircraft can transmit data directly to command and control centres on the ground, at sea or in the air.

In practice, the AWACS fleet plays a unique and valuable role for the Alliance by conducting a broad variety of missions. These range from air surveillance to air operations such as close air support, reconnaissance and humanitarian airlift. The changing nature of the international security environment in recent years has also led to the deployment of the force on more complex and tactical missions, including air-to-air and air-to-ground control, airspace management, air policing, combat search and rescue, force marshalling and threat warning operations.

To put it simple, the AWACS aircraft are NATO’s eyes in the sky

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Q5. What is the maximum flying time for the E-3A?

A5. The E-3A can stay airborne for more than 10 hours without refueling. However, all E 3A aircraft are air-refuelable and therefore can stay airborne for quite a long time. One of the longest missions was flown in support of NATO’s operation Eagle Assist (in the U.S.A. after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001) and lasted more than 17 hours.

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Q6. What is the fuel capacity?

A6. 89,610 liters / 22,768 gallons. Maximum take-off weight is 151,955 kg.

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Q7. What is the E-3A’s average speed during normal operations and what is its maximum speed?

A7. The average speed is 770 km/h. The maximum speed is 810 km/h.

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Q8. What is the E-3A’s operational altitude?

A8. The E-3A normally operates at 30,000 ft (9,150m), which allows for optimum radar performance.

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Q9. What are the dimensions of the E-3A aircraft – length, height and wingspan?

A9. The basic E-3A aircraft is a militarized version of the Boeing 707-320B commercial airliner airframe. The fuselage has a length of 46.68 meters (152 ft. 11 in.), a height of 12.70 meters (41 ft. 9 in.), and a wingspan of 44.45 meters (145 ft. 9 in.).

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Q10. What are the dimensions of the rotodome – and how often does it rotate?

A10. The rotodome has a diameter of 9.1 meters (30 ft), a thickness of 1.8 meters (6 ft), and a height above fuselage of 3.35 meters (11 ft). The rotodome rotates continuously, with each rotation taking 10 seconds.

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Q11. What is inside the Rotodome?

A11. The Rotodome contains two antennas. One side is a Phase Array Antenna consisting out of 30 slotted waveguides, electronically steered for the main Surveillance Radar System (SRS) and the other/opposite side has the IFF antenna consisting out of dipole elements.

The two antennas send and receive signals used by two active sensor systems and one passive sensor system. The active sensor systems are the SRS, which contains two different types of radar: a pulse radar and a pulse-doppler radar. These sensor systems work together to provide information on range, bearing, altitude, velocity and identity of surface and airborne tracks.

The E-3A's pulse radar works much like a normal ground based pulse radar. It gets bearing and range info only by sending out radio frequencies (RF) and measures the time and bearing to determine the distance to the object.

A pulse doppler radar works with frequency shifts on top of bearing and range. Energy reflected from objects moving toward the E-3A will have a higher frequency than the transmitted RF pulse, objects flying away from the radar platform will generate a lower frequency of reflected RF energy and that gives us the speed information. You have the same effect with a passing ambulance, once turning away from you; the sound gets lower than when heading towards you. On top, our antenna is scanning horizontally and gives us good altitude information.

The passive sensor system in the rotodome is the so-called Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) sensor. Almost every aircraft has an IFF transponder on board. The IFF system from the E-3A interrogates the transponder from the aircraft of interest, which hereafter automatically replies with relevant information, such as nationality, type of aircraft and flight pattern. That of course only if the aircraft of interest is willing to share that information. If that aircraft of interest is not responding it makes it suspicious and gets treated differently.

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Q12. What does the AWACS radar see and what is the amount of coverage?

A12. Looking down from the sky with a 360-degree view of the horizon, the E-3A can separate airborne targets from the ground and detect and track air and sea targets simultaneously within a range of 400-520 kilometers. One E-3A flying at 9,150 meters (30,000 feet) has radar coverage of 312,000 square kilometers (approximately the size of Germany).

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Q13. How many crewmembers are on board the E-3A?

A13. In order to operate the complex equipment on the AWACS, each E-3A has a crew of 16, drawn from a variety of branches, trades and nationalities. All these crewmembers are extensively trained in their respective roles. The maximum number of crew that the E-3A can carry is 35. The flight deck crew consists of aircraft commander, first pilot, navigator and flight engineer. The mission crew consists of one tactical director, one weapons team (for control of other military aircraft), one surveillance team, and three technicians.

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Q14. Why is there a red lion on the tail?

A14. The red lion on the tail is the Luxembourg lion. All E-3As and TCAs are flying under the Luxembourg flag. The reason is a story in it self:

E-3A AWACS aircraft arriving from Boeing in Seattle in the early 1980s bore U.S. markings. The NAPMO Board of Directors (BOD) was suddenly confronted with the unfamiliar difficulty of determining the flag under which this force was to start operations. This was the first time that NATO had assumed direct ownership of a military force, but the aircraft could not be registered solely under NATO insignia. The international regulations governing military air traffic stipulate that all military aircraft have to bear national markings and be registered in the country concerned. The BOD deemed that a European nation’s insignia was required, given that the force would be operating almost exclusively in the European theatre (due to Cold War era mission).

Using the markings of all the member countries was not a feasible. The NAPMA BOD therefore had to find a member nation whose legislation in this area was sufficiently accommodating to provide the Force Commander with enough latitude and flexibility to make up his crews as required and organize maintenance operations. Registration of the E-3As with NATO’s smallest member nation, Luxembourg, was proposed. Luxembourg was seen as a favourable option because it had had no air force and therefore no existing national regulations covering military aircraft. This proposal was accepted, with much relief to NATO officials, and the plan to register the aircraft in Luxembourg was earnestly pursued. The Luxembourg government’s consent was swiftly obtained and the E-3A fleet was then registered in the country. The three Trainer Cargo Aircraft (TCA) subsequently acquired by the E-3A Component were also registered there in due course. So that is the story about why the Component’s E-3A and TCA aircraft feature the Luxembourg lion.

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