Boeing has delivered its final Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft – modernized with avionics and a digital cockpit – to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Manching, Germany.
This is the final of 14 aircraft to be delivered by Boeing, ensuring NATO AWACS compliance with all current and future air traffic control and navigation requirements.
The upgrades include five full-color digital displays in each aircraft, replacing 1970’s-era dials and providing aircrew a customisable engine, navigation and radar data. These digital capabilities should also allow NATO to consolidate crew responsibilities.
“The Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) modernization project enables the NATO E-3A fleet to meet current and foreseen European air traffic management requirements,” said Brigadier General Mike Hain, General Manager of NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Programme Management Agency.
The first modernized NATO AWACS plane was modified at a Boeing facility in Seattle and delivered to NATO in November 2016. The remaining 13 aircraft underwent modernization in Manching, Germany.
“We are delighted to deliver this final upgraded AWACS to NATO and honored by their continued partnership,” added Scott Johnson, Boeing’s CNS/ATM Manager. “The modernized AWACS equipment provides real cost savings and efficiency so NATO can execute their vital mission for years to come.”
NATO’s AWACS fleet is the organisation’s first integrated, multinational flying unit, providing rapid deployment, airborne surveillance and command and control for NATO operations.
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