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#2058

Boeing E-3 Sentry

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1972· airborne early warning and control (aew&c)

🎖️ military 4× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. 060610-SKP-E-3-01: user:Pajx· Public domain
  2. 2. Boeing E-3F Sentry (8): Cjp24· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. Boeing E-3 Sentry LX-N 90454-3: Jwh· CC BY-SA 3.0 lu
  4. 4. E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) conducts a mission: Senior Airman Roslyn Ward· Public domain
  5. 5. E-3 Sentry system operator of NATO: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dustin Kelling· Public domain
  6. 6. Royal Air Force (RAF) E-3D Sentry AEW1 (airborne early warning) aircraft, registration ZH106, taking part in Exercise Taurus Mountain 3, in the skies over North Yorkshire in March 2012 - MOD 45153803 (cropped): Royal Air Force (RAF) / Ministry of Defence (MoD)· OGL v1.0
  7. 7. A flight bag and jacket wait to be loaded aboard an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The aircraft is being prepared for a mission over Turkey in supp - DPLA - 20f64ee7000f96f0e936185fe2ccede3: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994· Public domain
  8. 8. After dark- nighttime air refueling with the E-3 Sentry (9345811): U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez· Public domain
  9. 9. After dark- nighttime air refueling with the E-3 Sentry (9345812): U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez· Public domain
  10. 10. After dark- nighttime air refueling with the E-3 Sentry (9345813): U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melany Bermudez· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Boeing E-3 Sentry, photo 1 of 10
1/10 user:Pajx· Public domain

what is it?

The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control, and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force, NATO, French Air and Space Force, Royal Saudi Air Force and Chilean Air Force.

How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 44.4 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 854 km/htop speed
  • range 7,408 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 157.4 tmax take-off weight
  • built 68made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 54 years ago, in 1972.
  • Top speed is 6.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 44.4 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 26 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Range of 7,408 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1972-02-09
introduced
1977
retired
2021
status
still flying
number built
68
role
airborne early warning and control (aew&c)
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Westinghouse Electric Corporation
engines
4× Pratt and Whitney TF33-PW-100A / TF33-PW-100A
crew
4
length
46.6 m
wingspan
44.4 m
height
12.6 m
max take-off weight
157.4 t
top speed
854 km/h
cruise speed
579 km/h
range
7,408 km
ceiling
8,839 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q261384, Wikipedia: Boeing E-3 Sentry (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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