Airborne early warning and control An airborne early warning and control ( AEW & C ) system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft , ships and vehicles at long ranges and perform control and command of the battle space in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes . AEW & C units are also used to carry out surveillance , including over ground targets and frequently perform C2BM ( command and control , battle management ) functions similar to an Airport Traffic Controller given military command over other forces . Used at a high altitude , the radars on the aircraft allow the operators to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft hundreds of miles away . AEW & C aircraft are used for both defensive and offensive air operations , and are to the NATO and USA forces trained or integrated Air Force s what the Command Information Center is to a Navy Warship , plus a highly mobile and powerful radar platform . The system is used offensively to direct fighters to their target locations , and defensively , directing counterattacks on enemy forces , both air and ground . So useful is the advantage of command and control from a high altitude , the United States Navy operates AEW & C aircraft off its Supercarrier s to augment and protect its carrier Command Information Centers ( CICs ) AEW & C is also known by the older term " airborne early warning " ( AEW ) and for the name of a specific system , " airborne warning and control system " ( AWACS ) . General characteristics . Modern AEW & C systems can detect aircraft from up to away , well out of range of most surface - to - air missiles . One AEW & C aircraft flying at can cover an area of . Three such aircraft in overlapping orbits can cover the whole of Central Europe . In air - to - air combat , AEW & C systems can communicate with friendly aircraft , extend their sensor range and give them added stealth , since they no longer need their own active radar to detect threats . However , by the nature of radar , the aircraft can be detected by opposing forces beyond its own detection range . This is because the outgoing pulse reduces in strength the further it travels . Therefore , a signal intended to reflect back must be strong enough to cover at least twice the distance between the sender and the target — more in practice due to absorption losses . History of development . As part of their early use of radar , the British developed a radar set that could be carried on an aircraft for " Air Controlled Interception " . The intention was to cover the North West approaches where German long range Fw 200 Condor aircraft were a threat to shipping . A Vickers Wellington bomber ( serial R1629 ) was fitted with a rotating antenna array . It was trialled for use against aerial targets and then for possible use against German E boat s . Another installation was a radar equipped Wellington used to direct Bristol Beaufighter s onto Heinkel He 111 s , which were air - launching V - 1 flying bomb s . In February 1944 the U . S . Navy ordered the development of a radar system that could be carried aloft in an aircraft as Project Cadillac . A prototype system was built and flown in August on a modified TBM Avenger torpedo bomber . Tests proved successful , with the system being able to detect low flying formations at a range in excess of . The U . S . Navy then ordered production of the TBM - 3W , the first production AEW aircraft to enter service . TBM - 3Ws fitted with the AN / APS - 20 radar entered service in March 1945 , with some 36 – 40 eventually being constructed . In 1958 , the Soviet Tupolev Design Bureau was also ordered to design an AEW aircraft . After trying to fit the projected radar instrumentation in a Tu - 95 and a Tupolev Tu - 116 , the decision was made to use the Tu - 114 fuselage instead . This solved the problems with cooling and operator space that existed with the narrower Tu - 95 and Tu - 116 fuselage . To meet the flight range requirements , the plane was fitted with an air - to - air refueling receiver . The resulting plane , the Tu - 126 , was used by the Soviet Air Forces until it was replaced by the Beriev A - 50 in 1984 . Current systems . Many countries have developed their own AEW & C systems , although the Boeing E - 3 Sentry and Northrop Grumman E - 2 Hawkeye are the most common systems worldwide . The E - 3 Sentry was built by the Boeing Defense and Space Group ( now Boeing Defense , Space & Security ) and is based on the Boeing 707 - 320 aircraft . 65 E - 3 were built and it is operated by NATO and four nations . The specially designed Grumman E - 2 Hawkeye entered service in 1965 and has been operated by eight different nations . Over 168 have been produced so far and new versions continue to be developed making it the most widely used AEW system . For the Japan Air Self - Defense Force , the E - 3 technology has been fitted into the Boeing E - 767 . After World War 2 , the United Kingdom deployed a substantial AEW capability with American Douglas AD - 4W Skyraiders , designated Skyraider AEW . 1 , which in turn were replaced by the Fairey Gannet AEW . 3 , using the same AN / APS - 20 radar . When the Gannet was withdrawn , the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) redeployed the radars from the Gannets onto Avro Shackleton MR . 2 airframes , redesignated Shackleton AEW . 2 . To replace the Shackleton AEW . 2 , an AEW variant of the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod , known as the Nimrod AEW3 , was ordered in 1974 . However , after a protracted and problematic development , this was cancelled in 1986 , and seven E - 3Ds , designated Sentry AEW . 1 in RAF service , were purchased instead . The Russian Air Force is currently using around 15 – 20 Beriev A - 50 and A - 50U " Shmel " in the AEW role . The " Mainstay " is based on the Ilyushin Il - 76 airframe , with a large non - rotating disk radome on the rear fuselage . These replaced the 12 Tupolev Tu - 126 that filled the role previously . In 2003 , the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) and Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) began a study of requirements for developing an Airborne Early Warning and Control ( AEWAC ) system . The Indian Air Force ordered three EL / W - 2090 systems in 2004 , the first of which first arrived on May 25 , 2009 . The Royal Australian Air Force , Republic of Korea Air Force and the Turkish Air Force are deploying Boeing 737 AEW & C aircraft . Unlike the E - 2 and E - 3 , the Boeing 737 AEW & C does not use a rotating disk radome ( rotodome ) but instead has a large dorsal fin . It will probably be marketed towards many existing E - 2 customers , who would otherwise have no choice but to purchase a system intended for an aircraft carrier , due to lack of options . The Swedish Air Force use the S 100B Argus as their AEW platform . The S 100B Argus is based on the Saab 340 with an Ericsson Erieye PS - 890 radar . The Hellenic Air Force , Brazilian Air Force and Mexican Air Force use the Embraer R - 99 with an Ericsson Erieye PS - 890 radar , as on the S 100B . In early 2006 , the Pakistan Air Force ordered six Erieye AEW equipped Saab 2000 from Sweden for roughly $ 1bn . In December 2006 , the Pakistan Navy requested three excess P - 3 Orion aircraft to be equipped with Hawkeye 2000 AEW systems , the overall cost of the program is $ 855mn . China and Pakistan also signed a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) for the joint development of AEW & C systems . A $ 278m deal has been struck with China . Israel has developed the IAI / Elta EL / M - 2075 Phalcon system , which uses an AESA ( Active Electronically Scanned Array ) in lieu of a rotodome antenna . The system was the first such system into service . The original Phalcon was mounted on a Boeing 707 and developed for the Israeli Defense Force and for export . Many AEW systems feature additional command and control capabilities and are often referred to as airborne early warning and control ( AEW & C ) systems . Helicopter AEW systems . The Royal Navy Sea King ASaC7 naval helicopter was operated from " Invincible " - class aircraft carrier s . The creation of Sea King ASaC7 , and earlier AEW . 2 and AEW . 5 is the consequence of lessons learnt by the Royal Navy in the 1982 Falklands War when the lack of AEW coverage for the task force was a major tactical shortcoming . The Spanish Navy fields the SH - 3 Sea King in the same role , operated from the LPH " Juan Carlos I " The Russian - built Kamov Ka - 31 is deployed by the Indian Navy on " Krivak - III " frigates and reportedly used by the Russian Navy on its sole " Kuznetsov " aircraft carrier . It is fitted with E - 801M Oko ( Eye ) airborne electronic warfare radar that can track up to 20 targets simultaneously with aerial detection range 90 mi ( 150 km ) and surface warships up to 160 mi ( 250 km ) . The newest helicopter - based AEW is the AgustaWestland EH101 AEW of the Italian Navy , operated from the aircraft - carriers Garibaldi and Cavour . Airborne Warning and Control System ( AWACS ) . This is a specific system with a rotating radar dome " rotodome " radome designed and built by Boeing ( Defense & Space Group ) using Westinghouse ( now Northrop Grumman ) radar . It is mounted on either the E - 3 Sentry aircraft ( Boeing 707 ) or more recently a modified Boeing 767 . Only the Japanese Air Self - Defense Force has the 767 version , calling it the E - 767 .