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NATO Faces AWACS Fleet Shrinkage

Funding shortfall is reducing key NATO surveillance fleet

Dec 1, 2014Tony Osborne | Aviation Week & Space Technology

 

Early Warnings

 

NATO’s E-3A fleet is on track to become smaller at a time of increased Russian aggression. Credit: NATO E-3A Force

NATO might be calling on its members to raise their defense spending, but if the alliance’s airborne early warning program is anything to go by, that message may be falling on deaf ears.

For the first time since its formation in the early 1980s, NATO’s Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (AEW&C), also known as the E-3A Component, is facing major cutbacks and a fleet downsizing—at a time when mission tempos are high because of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The force, based at Geilenkirchen air base in Germany, operates 17 Boeing E-3A Sentry aircraft that provide air surveillance and support NATO air exercises. It was called up to secure U.S. skies in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, recently ended a 3.5-year operation in Afghanistan and expects to fly 4,300 hr. during 2015 to support NATO members bordering Ukraine.

Sixteen member states fund the operations with a total of €250 million ($312 million) a year.

Today, however, the force is facing new financial pressures. The most critical of these emerged three years ago, when the Canadian government decided to withdraw its support from the program, seeking to save money in the economic downturn.

Until the country’s flag was lowered at Geilenkirchen in July, Canada had been the third-largest contributor to the program, providing four complete flight crews. The last Canadian personnel left Geilenkirchen at the end of August.

By quitting both the AWACS and also the new Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) operation, Canada aimed to save CAD$90 million ($79 million) annually. But without Canada’s money, the force may have to remove one of the 17 E-3 Sentrys from operation because it cannot afford its depot-level maintenance. The aircraft likely will be stored and harvested for parts to support the rest of the fleet.

The withdrawal places the program in a “precarious position,” said Air Commo. Paddy Teakle, deputy commander of the NATO AEW&C Force Command, at the International Fighter Conference in London last month, since NATO officials are undertaking a force structure review in preparation for the introduction of AGS operation using the Global Hawk.

The review expects that the E-3A Component and AGS operation combined will have 2,000 personnel. The E-3A Component has 2,300 now and 600 slated to be assigned to AGS—meaning it needs to downsize to around 1,400 people.

A modernization program to upgrade the cockpits and make the aircraft compliant with new air traffic management requirements is well underway as part of U.S. Air Force’s Dragon program. The force can afford to upgrade only 14 of the 16 aircraft left after Canada’s departure, though. While no formal decision about their retirement has been made, officials point out there is little point in retaining two different fleets of the same aircraft. The first upgraded aircraft is scheduled to make its first post-modification flight Dec. 17. It will be returned to NATO in January 2016, and the entire fleet is due to be modified by the end of 2018.

“We are going down to 14 aircraft and 22 crews at a time when NATO needs those aircraft more than ever,” Teakle said.

The issues could potentially worsen as some NATO nations invest in their own AEW&C capabilities, such as Turkey, with its EW-7T Peace Eagle based on the Boeing 737, and Italy, with its Gulfstream G550 Conformal AEW platform purchased from Israel.

The fleet downsizing could mean that the U.K. Royal Air Force’s (RAF) fleet of E-3D Sentrys based at Waddington, England, could play an even greater role. While the U.K. does not pay into the NATO E-3 force, its six E-3s are assigned to the NATO mission as part of the E-3D Component.

Although the downturn in defense spending has not been kind to the U.K.’s fleet, it is seen by other E-3 operators as somewhat lagging in capability compared to the upgraded models flown by NATO, France and the U.S. Air Force. Senior RAF officers state that the fleet could be given much-needed upgrades in the coming years, before issues of obsolescence begin to appear.

The NATO E-3As have an out-of-service date of 2025 but could easily keep flying into the 2030s, as long as they are kept relevant. With no obvious replacement candidates, the force has a list of what Teakle calls “must-haves and desirables” that could keep them modern. The list includes updated crypto systems and the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System.