The Boeing E-3 Sentry is far more than just an airborne radar. Nicknamed the “Eye in the Sky” by many pilots, this airborne warning and control system (AWACS) is a combination flying command post and spy plane. With its million-watt Doppler Radar System, AWACS can detect incoming aircraft or missiles from tree-top height all the way up to the high end of the stratosphere, and out to hundreds of miles farther than any ground-based radar system.AWAC Capabilities:The sheer range and sensitivity of an AWACS’s AN/APY-2 radar, which is also capable of ignoring ground clutter that confuses most other radars, is a game-changing feature in and of itself. During Desert Storm,most Iraqi warplanes were continuously tracked from the moment they went “wheel’s up” from their bases by E-3’s circling 200+ miles away in Saudi Arabia.In aerial combat, the advantage always swings to the side with E-3’s. The “Eye in the Sky” provides total situational awareness of friendly and hostile activity, real-time c...
