With the loss of its tenth aircraft, the USAF is moving forward with retiring its E-3 Sentry

With the dispatch of a new E-3 Sentry to the 309th Aviation Maintenance and Overhaul Group, The United States Air Force (USAF) is developing its plan to retire part of its current fleet of airborne early warning and control aircraft. Favorite. The official account of Tinker Air Force Base was responsible for reporting the last flight of the tenth plane with registration number 80-0139.

The United States Air Force’s plans to retire a portion of its E-3 Sentry fleet are not recent. With the beginning of this year and due to various problems affecting the maintenance and logistical support of these aircraft, It was confirmed that a total of 13 aircraft would be withdrawn soon. This measure is intended to focus efforts and resources on maintaining a smaller fleet of AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) aircraft while progressing to an alternative integration.

This replacement was completed at the end of February with the E-7 Wedgetail selected and a contract awarded to Boeing worth US$1.2 billion.. Under the agreement, Boeing will develop two versions of the new aircraft, which will be evaluated and selected by the US Air Force to replace the E-3 Sentry.

Originally developed for the Royal Australian Air Force, the E-7 Wedgetail is an airborne warning and control platform based on the Boeing 737. It uses a MESA (Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array) radar as its primary sensor. This radar provides 360-degree coverage, allowing it to detect and identify enemy targets at long range and adapt to changing tactical situations. It operates in the L band, with a range of up to 600 km in search up mode and 370 km in search down mode. It can also track up to 180 targets simultaneously.

The tenth E-3 Sentry aircraft to be retired soon is aircraft with identification number 80-0139. He made his final flight from Tinker AFB to the 309th Aviation Maintenance and Refurbishment Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, known as the “Boneyard”, on August 28..

In April, when reporting on the retirement of the first Sentry aircraft, we reported that the departure of these aircraft will allow the unit based at Tinker AFB to focus on securing and increasing the availability of the remaining fleet. This temporary focus can improve some indicators, but always with an eye toward integrating the E-7 Wedgetail over the medium term.

*Photos: Tinker Air Force Base – US Air Force.

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