NATO received the first modernized Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS on October 25.
The Boeing 707-based passenger aircraft landed at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany after undergoing modifications since April 2022.
According to NATO, the four-engine jet has undergone the Final Lifetime Extension Program (FLEP), which will keep the E-3 operational until 2035.
The E-3A Sentry will now undergo ground and flight tests before returning to service.
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“During this phase, the aircraft will be operated and maintained by personnel from the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Programme Management Agency (NAPMA) and the NAEW&CF Force Combined Test Team (CTT), which will enhance support for the developmental testing of these modifications,” NATO said.
Boeing E-7 Wedgetail to replace E-3
The E-3A Sentry is an airborne early warning aircraft equipped with a pulse-doppler radar in a large rotating antenna mounted on top of the fuselage.
NATO decided to have its own radar fleet more than 40 years ago, and the first E-3 landed at Geilenkirchen in February 1982.
A total of 18 aircraft have been received, of which 14 remain operational, providing surveillance for 20 countries in the military alliance.
Despite the overhaul, the E-3s will begin to be replaced by Boeing E-7A Wedgetails from 2031.
NATO has ordered six aircraft initially, which are based on the 737-700 and feature a more advanced and capable synthetic aperture radar.
