Airborne early warning and control

An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, and other incoming projectiles at long ranges and perform command and control of the battlespace 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 battle management command and control (BMC2). When used at altitude, the radar on the aircraft allows the operators to detect and track targets and distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft much farther away than a similar ground-based radar. Like a ground-based radar, it can be detected by opposing forces, but because of its mobility and extended sensor range, it is much less vulnerable to counter-attacks. AEW&C aircraft are used for both defensive and offensive air operations, and are to NATO and US-trained or integrated air forces what the combat information center is to a naval warship, in addition to being 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 aircraft operating at a high altitude, that some navies operate such aircraft from their warships at sea. In the case of US Navy, the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft is assigned to its supercarriers to protect them and augment their onboard command information centers (CICs). The designation "airborne early warning" (AEW) was used for earlier similar aircraft used in the less-demanding radar picket role, such as the Fairey Gannet AEW.3 and Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, and continues to be used by the RAF for its Sentry AEW1, while AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) emphasizes the command and control capabilities that may not be present on smaller or simpler radar picket aircraft.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (4)

Related concepts (16)

Precipitation, Characterization, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Modelling of Synthetic C-S-H Systems (C-S-H, CASH, CSH+$)

Maya Nicole Harris

This thesis investigates the effects of aluminates, sulfates, and heterogeneous substrates on the nucleation and growth of synthetic calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H) produced by dropwise precipitation. The use of synthetic C-S-H, separate from other cemen ...

EPFL2022

Building Blocks for a 24 GHz Phased-Array Front-End in CMOS Technology for Smart Streetlights

Pierre-André Farine, Cyril Botteron, Gabriele Tasselli, Ban Wang

According to a recent European Union report, lighting represents a significant share of electricity costs and the goal of reducing lighting power consumption by 20% demands the coupling of light-emitting diode (LED) lights with smart sensors and communicat ...

2014

A Fast Model Free Intelligent Controller Based on Fused Emotions: A Practical Case Implementation

Arash Arami

In this paper a combination of brain emotional learning based intelligent controllers (BELBICs) is employed to control an unidentified practical overhead crane. The proposed controller is a model free controller and has the capability to deal with multi-ob ...

IEEE2008

Aerial warfare

Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control of airspace; attack aircraft engaging in close air support against ground targets; naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets; gliders, helicopters and other aircraft to carry airborne forces such as paratroopers; aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; and military transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.

Command and control

Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... [that] employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or enterprise, according to a 2015 definition by military scientists Marius Vassiliou, David S. Alberts, and Jonathan R. Agre. The term often refers to a military system.

Air force

An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviation or naval aviation units. Typically, air forces are responsible for gaining control of the air, carrying out strategic and tactical bombing missions, and providing support to land and naval forces often in the form of aerial reconnaissance and close air support.