Flight International – 11 June 2019

60 | Flight International | 11-17 June 2019 flightglobal.com

PARIS

Special report

As NATO marks its 70th anniversary, the Boeing E-3A

airborne warning and control system fleet has been given

a mid-life upgrade to maintain active service into the 2030s

Guarding

the Alliance

I

n what is a remarkable 12 months for aero-

space-sector anniversaries – ranging from

half-centuries since the first flights of the

Boeing 747 and Aerospatiale/BAC Con-

corde, man’s inaugural steps on the moon and

the formation of both Airbus and Embraer, to

Flight’s own 110th year – one of the most in-

fluential events could be overlooked all too

easily. But in the context of advancing global

security, few steps can rival the significance

of NATO’s establishment in April 1949 via the

North Atlantic Treaty.

An initial 12 nations held membership

when the Alliance was created as a means of

jointly countering the might of the Soviet

Union. Highlighting how Europe changed

over the ensuing decades, an initially gradual

process of enlargement, which added only

seven more countries through the organisa-

tion’s first 50 years, accelerated markedly

from 2004.

The last 15 years have seen a further 10 ad-

ditions, for a current total of 29, and NATO’s

operational reach now runs down from the

Baltic states and through the Balkans and

Black Sea, providing a broad eastern flank fac-

ing an unpredictable Russia.

North Macedonia is to gain full member-

ship during 2020, and NATO is inviting “any

other European state in a position to further

the principles of this Treaty and to contribute

to the security of the North Atlantic area”.

Others to have expressed interest in joining

are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and

Ukraine.

Today, NATO’s most prominent example of

shared endeavour is arguably the Alliance’s

own fleet of Boeing E-3A airborne warning and

control system (AWACS) aircraft. Operating

from Geilenkirchen air base in Germany, this

totals 14 Boeing 707-based surveillance plat-

forms, immediately recognisable due to the

large radar installed atop the type’s fuselage.

CRAIG HOYLE STOLBERG Employed for airborne early warning and

control duties, along with battlefield manage-

ment tasks, the E-3A is typically flown with a

15-strong crew, including pilots, technicians

and mission system operators. For long-

endurance duties supported by in-flight refuel-

ling, it can accommodate up to 33 personnel.

BROAD SUPPORT

Directly supported by contributions from 17

nations, the NATO force also calls on the UK’s

national fleet of E-3Ds, with the Royal Air

Force assets providing around 25% of its total

capability. London recently ordered five re-

placement 737-based E-7As with Northrop

Grumman MESA surveillance radars, with

operations to commence by the mid-2020s.

Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark,

Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Nether-

lands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,

Spain, Turkey and the USA all assign military

personnel to the E-3A component, while Lux-

embourg provides civilian staff.

Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows NATO’s

E-3As as aged between 34 and 38 years. In late

2018, a Boeing-led mid-life upgrade activity

was completed, focused on bringing them in

line with current communication, navigation

and surveillance/air traffic management

(CNS/ATM) requirements.

In the cockpit, analogue displays have been

replaced with five multifunctional digital

units, capable of showing “customisable

engine, navigation and radar data”, Boeing

says of the update. The company upgraded a

first example in the USA, before returning it

for service in November 2016. Airbus De-

fence & Space replicated the work on the re-

mainder of the fleet at its Manching site near

Munich, handing over the final aircraft last

December.

Due to the reliability improvements expect-

ed, a decision was taken to retire a further

three E-3As between late 2015 and the end of

last year.

Boeing says that with the modernisation

activity completed, the 14 retained aircraft

“can execute their vital missions for years to

come”. According to current plans, the Alli-

ance will continue to fly the type until 2035,

representing an expected service life greater

than 50 years.

Ahead of the Paris air show, FlightGlobal

paid a visit to the Stolberg facility of training

specialist CAE, which supports the instruc-

tion of NATO force personnel approximately

18 miles (29km) to the north at Geilenkirch-

en. The company’s operational relationship

with the Alliance dates back some 35 years

on the platform.

“It is the only operational fleet that NATO

is operating itself – it’s not full of earmarked

forces that are operating up to a certain event:

it is there and present every day,” says Jens

Hoffmann, CAE’s system manager for its E-3A

simulator, and a former rear-crew member.

“NATO gave us the opportunity to build a

full-flight simulator [FFS] back in the late

1970s to be implemented in 1982,” Hoffmann

The E-3A’s analogue displays have been replaced with five multifunctional digital units

Boeing