File:Royal_Air_Force_(RAF)_E-3D_Sentry_AEW1_(airborne_early_warning)_aircraft,_registration_ZH106,_taking_part_in_Exercise_Taurus_Mountain_3,_in_the_skies_over_North_Yorkshire_in_March_2012_-_MOD_45153803_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
airborne early warning and command system
Sign in to saveAlso known as airborne early warning and control aircraft, AWACS aircraft, airborne early warning aircraft, AEW aircraft, airborne early warning and control unit, AWACS unit, airborne battle management unit, early warning aircraft
airborne system of surveillance radar plus command and control functions
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Encyclopedic overview
A Royal Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry over North Yorkshire
An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of the battlespace in aerial engagements by informing and directing friendly fighter and attack aircraft. AEW&C units are also used to carry out aerial surveillance over ground and maritime targets, and frequently perform battle management command and control (BMC2). When used at altitude, the radar system on AEW&C aircraft allows the operators to detect, track and prioritize targets and identify friendly aircraft from hostile ones in real-time and from much farther away than ground-based radars. Like ground-based radars, AEW&C systems can be detected and targeted by opposing forces, but due to aircraft mobility and extended sensor range, they are much less vulnerable to counter-attacks than ground systems.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “airborne early warning and command system” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.