9/11 and beyond
The day after
AWACS are one of the few commonly owned defence capabilities of the Alliance.
They provide air surveillance and early warning capability by transmitting data to command and control centres on land, sea and in the air.
Sixteen aircraft are assigned to the AWACS fleet.
Multinational aircrews from 16 NATO member countries are assigned to the Component's three operational E-3A squadrons.
The aircrew consists of two pilots, one navigator and one flight engineer.
This aircraft can fly over 10 hours without refueling, at an operational speed of more than 800 kmph (or 500 mph).
The antennas for the radar systems are found in the rotodome that is carried on top of the AWACS. This structure rotates every ten seconds, providing 360-degree surveillance coverage.
At 9,150 metres (30,000 feet), an AWACS has over 312 000 km2 in its field of view. Three in overlapping orbits can provide complete coverage of Central Europe.
NATO AWACS
The wingspan of an AWACS is 44.45 m and the aircraft itself is 46.68 m long.
An air-to-air refueling takes three hours during which about 22 680 kilos (50,000 pounds) or 23 000 liters of fuel is loaded.
Coordination between the boom operator and the AWACS pilot is key as they work within only 6 metres from each other.
The AWACS play a unique and valuable role for the Alliance. They conduct a wide range of missions such as air policing, support to counter-terrorism, evacuation operations, embargo, initial entry and crisis response.
They have been called on to support a wide range of operations for instance in Afghanistan, in the Mediterranean and in Libya.
AWACS also provide security support to important events like NATO Summits, heads of state visits throughout Europe, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, the 2006 world-cup football championship in Germany and the European football Championships in Poland in 2012.
More recently, the fleet has been involved in reassurance measures following the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and in the tailored assurance measures for Turkey against the background of the Syrian crisis.