List of AEW&C aircraft operators



Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft are airborne radar systems designed to detect and track aircraft, missiles and ships and provide control for friendly weapons systems and aircraft for interception. This differs from AEW aircraft and helicopters, which can detect and track, but lack command and control facilities, instead relaying the data to such facilities. Used at high altitudes, the systems allow the operators to detect, track and identify aircraft hundreds of miles away, as well as determine altitude The system is used offensively to direct fighters and bombers to target locations and defensively for intercepting incoming bogeys. Modern AEW&C systems can detect aircraft from up to 250 mi away, out of range of most surface-to-air missiles. One AEW&C aircraft flying at 30000 ft can cover an area of 120460 sqmi. 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, extending the sensor range and reducing the detectability of combat aircraft, since they no longer need their own active radar to detect threats.

The AEW aircraft appeared for the first time during World War 2 when air search radar units were installed in bombers such as the Vickers Wellington and later the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress to extend the range of ground based radars, after earlier, more primitive radars had proven successful in tracking ships. During the Cold War, the cost remained prohibitive however it came to be seen as essential for air defence, particularly by the United States which was responsible for developing it into a mature system with the AWACS mounted on a Boeing E-3 Sentry. In the last decade, reductions in the cost of electronics and improvements in performance has seen many low-cost platforms come on the market which saw an enormous growth in this area. It is expected that in the near future the evolution of phased array radars, as well as rivalries between Asian nations such as India and Pakistan or China and Taiwan will further push demand for AEW&C aircraft.