Among the many military aircraft in the world, there is one plane that is quite strange, it has a huge "disc" on its back. People who don't know the inside story will think that the blue sky with such a "disc" on their backs is neither flying nor beautiful. However, we must know that this "disc" can play a great role! It can be said that the key to this kind of aircraft is this "disc."
So what exactly is this "disc"? It is a radar antenna, and this kind of aircraft is called an early warning aircraft. When it flies into the blue sky with a "disc" on its back, then the ground, sea, and air within a radius of 100 miles are all within its monitoring range; as long as there is the slightest movement, whether the plane takes off or the tank starts, it will not be able to escape its "eyes", and if it is not done well, it will be attacked fiercely, and that is also guided by the early warning plane. In other words, AWACS aircraft can be used to search for and monitor air, ground or sea targets, and can direct and guide their own aircraft to carry out combat missions.
The world's first carrier-based AWACS aircraft was successfully tested at the end of 1945. The United States has installed warning radars on small TBM-3W aircraft, mainly on aircraft carriers, for early warning of sea targets, especially low-altitude and ultra-low-altitude targets. However, this AWACS aircraft is not practical. The world's first practical carrier-based AWACS aircraft was successfully tested on March 3, 1958. The United States named this AWACS aircraft with an oval umbrella-shaped "disc" with a length of 9.7 meters and a width of 6.1 meters on its back as the E-1B "Tracker". This aircraft, which entered service in early 1960, has a detection range of more than 200 kilometers from its search radar. That is, targets at a distance of 200 km will not escape the "eyes" of the E-1B. The early warning capability of the early warning aircraft is still limited, because the ordinary pulse radar it uses not only has poor downward vision ability, but also has a poor ability to distinguish targets on the sea surface with large clutter intensity. At the same time, due to the limitations of airborne equipment, the early warning aircraft does not have a command and guidance function.
It would be great if we could discover targets several hundred kilometers away in a timely manner, and if we could effectively guide and direct our own forces to attack the enemy in light of the actual situation. The American E-2C "Hawkeye" AWACS aircraft did this. In all the high-tech local wars in which the aircraft has participated in recent years, the E-2C early warning aircraft has played a pivotal role. Let's first take a look at the brilliant appearance of the E-2C "Hawkeye" AWACS aircraft!
It was the afternoon of June 9, 1982, and the largest air battle in the history of the Middle East was fought in the Bekaa Valley. The warring sides have their own "trump cards". While the U.S.-backed Israel has a variety of advanced warplanes, including the E-2C AWACS aircraft, the Soviet-backed Syria has deployed 19 surface-to-air missile battalions in the valley, armed with 228 Soviet-made Sam-6 missiles. Before the outbreak of the air war, Israel sent two E-2C "Hawkeye" early warning aircraft to the west coast of Lebanon to closely monitor the movements of the Syrian air force and missile launch sites at an altitude of 9,000 meters. As soon as the Syrian plane took to the air, it was caught by the "Eagle Eye". It immediately transmits data on various parameters of Syrian aircraft, including speed, course, altitude, etc., to F-4 fighters in a timely manner, and guides them to accurately strike Syrian aircraft. And the Sam-6 missile launch base was blown up by E-2C-guided fighter-bombers before the missiles were launched. The battle is said to have lasted only six minutes, with 81 Syrian aircraft shot down and all 228 SAM-6 missiles destroyed. With such a good result, Israel has a different view of the E-2C AWACS aircraft. Why, then, does the E-2C have such a high level of early warning capabilities?
The E-2C "Hawkeye" AWACS aircraft was developed by the American company Grumman. It was tested in October 1960 and delivered to the U.S. Navy in January 1964. The aircraft is 17.54 meters long, 5.58 meters high, has a maximum level flight speed of 626 kilometers per hour, and a ceiling of 11,275 meters. The disc on the back of the fuselage is 7.3 meters in diameter and 0.79 meters in thickness, and the radome is equipped with radar antennas and antennas for friend or foe identifiers. Antenna scanning can complete the interrogation of 200 transponders at a time, and the accurate radar system can also automatically track 2,000 targets and control more than 40 aerial interception missions. The aircraft is also equipped with an electronic reconnaissance and communications reconnaissance system, a navigation system, a data processing system, and a display and control system, which ensure that the E-2C "Hawkeye" early warning aircraft can successfully complete its tasks of searching, surveillance, and tracking air, ground, and sea targets, and guiding and directing its own fighters to intercept enemy targets.
The detection distance of the E-2C to different targets is different: 741 km for high-altitude bombers, 463 km for low-altitude bombers, 360 km for ships, 408 km for low-altitude fighters, 269 km for low-altitude cruise missiles. It is possible to track 250 targets at the same time and guide 45 fighters in air combat at the same time. Specifically, the E-2C replaced the Type 138 radar of Type B with the AN/APS-125 radar. The U.S. Navy says the radar can detect cruise missiles up to 270 kilometers away. The radar can detect air targets at any point within a 12.5 million cubic kilometer surveillance range, while also continuously monitoring maritime traffic.