Boeing E-3 Sentry

The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft developed by Boeing from the Boeing 707 airliner. It first flew in 1976 and entered US Air Force service in 1977. Its most distinctive feature is the rotating radar dome, about 9 metres in diameter, mounted above the fuselage, which can detect air and surface targets hundreds of kilometres away and direct friendly fighters. The E-3 has served with the US Air Force, NATO, the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia, played a key role in conflicts such as the Gulf War, and is now gradually being replaced by newer types such as the E-7A Wedgetail.