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🇺🇸 Boeing E-3 Sentry
Air · Boeing (ABD) — radar Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2; gövde 707-320B türevi · 1977 (USAF IOC; ilk uçuş 1976)
The E-3 Sentry mounts a 9.1 m rotating radar dome on a Boeing 707 airframe; a 'flying command post' (AWACS) that sees the air picture hundreds of km out and directs friendly fighters. Its value is not in shooting but in being a force multiplier that paints the whole battle.
Specifications
- Type: Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS / AEW&C)
- Manufacturer / origin: Boeing (USA); Boeing 707-320B derivative airframe
- Engine: 4 × Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-100A turbofans, each ~96 kN (21,500 lbf)
- Max speed: ~855 km/h (461 knots / 530 mph)
- Ceiling: Over 8,800 m (~29,000+ ft)
- Range / endurance: ~7,400 km; over 8 hours unrefueled, extended via aerial refueling
- Radar: Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2; 400+ km detection for low-altitude targets, 9.1 m (30 ft) rotodome
- Crew: 4 flight + 13-19 mission specialists (total ~17-23)
- Unit cost: ~$270 million (1998 dollars; today ~$500+ million equivalent)
- Service year: Since 1977; 68 produced, ~14 active in USAF (after March 2026 loss)
Beats: E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (ABD) — daha küçük gövdeli; E-3 çok daha geniş kabin, uzun havada kalış ve büyük görev ekibiyle stratejik kapsama sunar, A-50 'Mainstay' (Rusya) — Sovyet kökenli muadiline göre daha olgun veri-bağı entegrasyonu ve NATO ağ uyumu, KJ-2000 (Çin) — sınırlı sayıda; E-3 onlarca yıllık operasyonel olgunluk ve geniş koalisyon ağ deneyimi taşır
Loses to: E-7 Wedgetail (Avustralya/ABD) — sabit MESA AESA radarı 360° elektronik tarama; mekanik dönen kubbeden daha hızlı güncelleme ve daha düşük işletme yükü, Saab GlobalEye (İsveç) — modern AESA (Erieye ER) + çok-domain (hava/deniz/kara) algılama; çok daha yeni ve ucuz işletme, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (ABD) — gemiye konuşlanabilir, modern AESA; E-3 bu çeviklik ve hayatta kalma esnekliğinden yoksun
The E-3's strength is the radar reach, but the platform has aged: USAF fleet average age ~45 years and mission-ready rate near 55%. As a large, slow aircraft with a rotating dome it is highly vulnerable to modern air defenses and missiles — in March 2026 a USAF E-3G was destroyed on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in a drone/missile strike. The E-7 Wedgetail transition is delayed, pushing retirement to the mid-2030s.
Related systems
Same manufacturer (Boeing (ABD) — radar Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2; gövde 707-320B türevi): E-7T Barış Kartalı, AH-64 Apache, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, C-17 Globemaster III, EA-18G Growler, Quickstrike-ER
Related systems (Air): KAAN, Bayraktar KIZILELMA, ANKA-3, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar Akıncı, Vyriy OPTO 10, Skydagger, AKBABA, GÖKTUĞ (Gökdoğan/Bozdoğan), SOM
