Posted on 09/20/2006 1:05:19 PM PDT by Jack_1
The Israel Air Force (IAF) today received its first AWACS plane at a ceremony at Air Force Base 27 at Ben Gurion Airport. The Gulfstream G-550 plane is equipped with airborne radar systems made by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) subsidiary Elta Systems.
The Eitam will provide a comprehensive aerial picture of the combat zone, including identifying friend and foe aircraft, target acquisition, communications with other aircraft and with base stations. The plane’s system can handle large quantities of information in real time.
(Excerpt) Read more at globes.co.il ...
neither is Israel... 8^)
X-band and C-band radar?
Sure is. I wonder how long it will be before the Chinese end up with one?
are you sure?
I remember in 2001 during the situation with the US spyplane emergency landing in china the onboard electronics were reported in the media as more advanced than anything publicly available. (I believe the one of the terms used was "custom made cpu's".
There has to be SOME advantage to this volume inside.
(s) HOWDY, Ahm Al Gore your sales rep here at Bill Clinton's High Tech-o-Rama Bargain Barn. If you have the cash we have the tech...ANY tech.
(/s)
The Navy uses Hawkeyes for early waring radar, but they don't have the range of the E-3. The Air Force has its own strategic intelligence gathering "spy" aircraft as well, the RC-135.
All I am saying is that I believe we may be able to retire some of the older E-3As in lieu of purchasing the new technology that the Gulfstreams represent. I have no idea of what a side by side comparison of the two aircraft reveals, however, it may be worth pursuing. Moreover, the Air Force is currently attempting to retire the F-117, the C-21, and hundreds of B-52s and C-130s. The Air Force just retired its entire C-141 and C-9 fleet recently. It is planning on retiring hundreds of KC-135s in the near future. It is doing this to save money so it can buy the F-22 and a new tanker. So retiring the E-3A isn't a radical concept.
If there's one thing I've learned from reading Tom Clancy, it's that an air battle when only one side has airborne radar coverage is a slaughter.
They used to have the E-2 Hawkeye. Some of those ex-Israeli machines are now in service with Mexico.
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