The sound E-3 "watchtower" early warning aircraft is an all-weather long-range air early warning and control aircraft developed by Boeing company of the United States according to the plan of the air force "airborne warning and control system" (abbreviated as AWACS). It has the ability to look down and monitor manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft over various terrain.
The E-3 "watchtower" is produced by Boeing of the United States, and its prototype is Boeing 707/320 airliner. E-3 adopts four Pratt Whitney tf33-pw-100a turbofan engines, with a maximum thrust of 93.4 kn per unit. [1]
The radome on the back of the E-3 is the most special place compared with other aircraft in appearance. The radome has a diameter of 9.1m and a thickness of 1.8m. It is supported at a height of 3.3m from the fuselage by two pillars. A radar antenna system is installed inside. This radar system enables E-3 to provide radar monitoring capability for atmosphere, ground and water surface. For low altitude flying targets, the detection distance is more than 320 kilometers, and for hollow and high altitude targets, the detection distance is longer. The IFF subsystem on the radar system has down looking capability and can resist ground clutter jamming. Other radars cannot remove interference under such conditions. The unit price of E-3 is as high as US $270Million, and the price is greatly affected by expensive electronic equipment. [2]