Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft is prepared for flight in November 1997. AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is a radar-based electronic system designed to carry out airborne surveillance, and C3 (command, control and communications) functions for both tactical and air defence forces. The system is designed and built by Boeing (Defense & Space Group) using Northrop Grumman radar and flown on either the E-3 Sentry aircraft (Boeing 707) or more recently a modified Boeing 767. The aircraft are used by the USAF, NATO, the RAF, France, Saudi Arabia and the JASDF (Japanese Air Self-Defense Force). Some of the planes are stationed in Geilenkirchen, Germany. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.