The US Air Force (USAF) has dispatched multiple E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft to the Middle East as part of a massive wave of air power mobilization to the region ahead of a potential attack on Iran.
Interestingly, the deployment comes just months after the Pentagon axed the E-7 Wedgetail program, E-3’s successor.
The USAF has deployed six E-3 Sentry aircraft, representing nearly 40% of its total fleet of 16, from bases in the US to Europe. Two of these aircraft originated from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska and landed at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom (considered a staging point) on February 17, while four more were reportedly dispatched from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
At least two of these aircraft are currently en route to the Middle East, according to data from plane spotters and OSINT analysts, and the remaining four are also expected to be deployed to the region soon.
This mobilization is part of a broader US military buildup, including dozens of fighter jets, such as F-22s, F-35s, F-16s, tankers, and other support assets. You can read a detailed report on the USAF’s recent deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility here.
Analysts believe that the deployment of multiple E-3 aircraft to the region represents the final move ahead of an imminent attack on Iran.
“E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, aircraft with an integrated command and control battle management, or C2BM, surveillance, target detection, and tracking platform. The aircraft provides an accurate, real-time picture of the battlespace to the Joint Air Operations Center,” states the USAF on its official website.
“The AWACS provides situational awareness of friendly, neutral, and hostile activity, command and control of an area of responsibility, battle management of theatre forces, all-altitude and all-weather surveillance of the battle space, and early warning of enemy actions during joint, allied, and coalition operations,” it adds.
In a potential attack on Iran, the E-3 would act as the “eyes in the sky.”
The aircraft would provide real-time intelligence across large areas. The E-3 Sentry’s radar can detect and track aircraft, missiles, and ships up to 250 miles, enabling early warning of Iranian ballistic missile launches and drones.
The Sentry can also track friendly and hostile air and naval movements over a wide area of the battle space from its perch, and its look-down radar capability offers special advantages for spotting and tracking lower flying threats, such as cruise missiles.
The E-3 will help direct air operations, such as coordinating strikes by F-35s or strategic bombers on Iranian nuclear sites, command centres, or air defence systems. Moreover, it could integrate data from ground radars, satellites, and other aircraft for a unified picture.
In a multi-domain scenario, the E-3 would manage fighter escorts, refuelling tankers, and electronic warfare assets to suppress Iranian air defence systems, such as the S-300.
Additionally, by relaying communications in jammed environments, it ensures seamless coordination among coalition forces, potentially turning a chaotic air battle into a controlled operation.
The E-3 has been a cornerstone of US and allied air operations since entering service in the late 1970s, providing airborne early warning, surveillance, command and control, and battle management in several conflicts, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Forces, Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as in operations in Libya and Syria.
More recently, during Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran in June 2025, the E-3s purportedly supported the 125-aircraft mission by providing real-time battle-space awareness, threat detection, and coordination among B-2 bombers, F-35s, and F-22s, as well as naval assets.
The Challenges Of Operating The E-3 & Cancellation Of the E-7
With only 16 aircraft, the USAF’s mission-capable rate hovers at around 55.7%, as previously noted by Air and Space Forces Magazine. This could create wartime inadequacies and strain resources in the event of a potential attack on Iran.
In addition to being some of the final Boeing 707 airliner derivatives ever manufactured, the final new Sentry aircraft were delivered to the USAF way back in 1992. Although they have undergone significant upgrades since then, the E-3s continue to age and are becoming more difficult to maintain.
One specific concern has been the use of long-out-of-production Pratt & Whitney TF33 low-bypass turbofans to power US E-3s, as noted by multiple reports.
Maintenance demands are extraordinarily high, requiring 16 hours to prepare one E-3 for flight, far exceeding the norms for other USAF aircraft. The aircraft’s mix of analog and digital components, sensors, wires, and systems necessitates a diverse maintenance team spanning 11 Air Force Specialty Codes, which is three to four times the typical requirement.
Additionally, there seems to be a parts shortage, which has led to cannibalization from retired E-3s and to contracts like the $16.8 million award in 2025 for managing diminishing sources.
Moreover, reports suggest that in modern conflicts, the E-3’s non-stealthy design and mechanically scanned AN/APY-1/2 radar make it vulnerable to long-range missiles and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) systems. It struggles against low-observable fighters, hypersonic threats, and very slow-moving targets, forcing standoff operations hundreds of kilometres from threats and reliance on beyond-line-of-sight communications.
This essentially raises doubts about a perplexing Pentagon decision to cancel the procurement of new E-7 Wedgetail jets.
The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail is an advanced airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft derived from the Boeing 737-700 airliner platform. The aircraft features the Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar, which provides 360-degree surveillance coverage for air and maritime targets, battle management, command and control, and communications relay capabilities.
The E-7 is designed to detect, track, and identify threats at long ranges, directing friendly forces while operating in contested environments.
For the US, the E-7 is intended as a replacement for the aging E-3 Sentry (AWACS) fleet, which is facing retirement due to high maintenance costs and obsolescence.
In April 2022, the USAF announced the selection of E-7 as E-3 replacement, citing it as the only platform meeting tactical battle management needs within the required timelines. This was followed by the awarding of a $1.2 billion contract to Boeing in February 2023 for the development of two US-specific E-7 variants.
Later, in 2024, Boeing was awarded a $2.56 billion contract for two rapid-prototype aircraft, to be delivered by 2028 for testing.
Notably, the program ran into issues soon after. In January 2025, the Congress watchdog, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), reported that the initial operational capability (IOC) had been delayed to 2032 due to program issues. And by June 2025, the Pentagon announced its intent to cancel the program in its FY2026 budget request, citing cost overruns, delays, and concerns about survivability in high-end conflicts.
The Pentagon floated the idea of purchasing additional E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft from the US Navy as a stopgap measure, which it believed would serve as a springboard to the Air Force’s long-term objective of moving the majority of airborne target-tracking sensor-layer tasks into space.
However, the US Congress moved to save the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft program in the newly passed National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), overriding Pentagon plans to cancel it. The fiscal 2026 NDAA authorized an additional $647 million for continued development of the E-7, while prohibiting the USAF from terminating its contract with Boeing or shutting down associated production lines.
Additionally, the lawmakers also blocked the retirement of more than a limited number of aging E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft until adequate E-7s are fielded or an alternative plan is approved, addressing concerns about potential gaps in airborne command-and-control capabilities. The US President Donald subsequently signed a sweeping $90 billion defence policy bill into law late last year.
The congressional intervention highlighted the prevailing bipartisan support for the E-7 as a trusted replacement for the E-3 fleet, with supporters arguing that emerging space technologies weren’t mature enough to completely replace manned AWACS platforms.
While the program has now been spared the axe, the reduced E-3 fleet remains under tremendous strain.
Moreover, while the Congress managed to preserve the E-7, it provides funding only for the two prototypes currently under construction or being equipped, as well as for the development of US sovereign capabilities. Beyond that, the DOD has demonstrated no desire to request funding to purchase any further operational E-7 AEWCS.
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